
Class ___:MV?10 

Book J 

Copyright K" 



I 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 



NEW TESTAMENT 
EVANGELISM 




By 

t: b. kilpatrick, d. d., s. t. d. 

' KNOX COLLEGE, TORONTO 



Appendices Prepared By 

J. G. SHEARER, D.D. 

SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OP MORAL AND SOCIAL RE- 
FORM, AND OP EVANGELISM, OP THE PRES- 
BYTERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA 




HODDER & STOUGHTON 

NEW YORK 

GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 






COPYEIGHT, 1911 

GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



©Ci.A28r,581 



To 

MY FATHER, 

My Best Teacher and Friend, Who, After Seventy 

Years in the Service of Evangelism, Still 

Lives to Bear Witness that the 

Gospel is the Power 

of God Unto 

Salvation. 



PREFACE 

This little book is sent out with a deep convic- 
tion of the truth of its organizing idea, and at 
the same time with a very keen consciousness 
of the inadequate manner in which that idea has 
been developed. 

The occasion of publication is a request ad- 
dressed to me by the Coimmittee on Evangelism, 
appointed by the General Assembly of the Pres- 
byterian Church in Canada, that I should print 
certain lectures delivered by me a year ago to 
the Alumni Conference of Knox College, Toronto. 

I have acceded to this request, only in the 
hope that my words, insufficient though they are 
to do justice to so great a theme, might afford 
some encouragement and guidance t,o^ my younger 
brethren in the ministry. I covet for my students, 
and for all in the ministry whom I can in any way 
influence and help^ no higher honor than that 
they should do with zeal and efficiency the work 
of evangelism. If they shall find in what I have 
written anything to strengthen their hope and 
direct their endeavor, I will be profoundly thank- 
ful. 

The central idea ia my mind is the primacy 
of evangelism in the Church's work. I have 

vii 



viii PREFACE 

sought to ground this in the Bible, to illustrate 
it from history, and to apply it to the circum- 
stances of the modern Church. 

It would be impossible to indicate all the 
sources from which I have derived the material 
of my work. My old teacher. Principal Lindsay, 
of the United Free Church College, Glasgow, if 
he turned over my pages, would recognize much 
that is due to the stamp he put upon my mind 
long ago. My friend, Dr. Denney, if he see, will 
also pardon the use I have made of the great 
work he has done in setting forth the essence of 
the Gospel. 

May I add that the actual work of composi- 
tion was done far from libraries, at a summer 
camp on the shores of the Georgian Bay? My 
tent was pitched in a lovely glade. So still was 
it that the wild creatures played about my feet. 
The air was laden with the scent of balsam and 
birch and pine. Amid scenes so fair, the hours 
of labor were not the least happy part of my 
vacation. 

The very practical and most valuable appendi- 
ces are the work of Dr. Shearer, widely known 
throughout Canada as an able and tireless worker 
in the allied causes of social reform and evan- 
gelism. 

I venture to add also a letter of my own, 
which I am told has proved helpful to some of 
the younger men engaged in special missions. 

T. B. KiLPATRICK. 



CONTENTS 



PARTI 

EVANGELISM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT 

Iktroduotion — Evangelism, the PEOCLAMATioi?^ of 
Glad Tidikgs 

Ohaptkb Pagk 

I. The Message — Evangelism as it Appears 
IN THE Old Testament Designations of 
THE Gospel, 3 

I. Its General Features — 

The Qualities of the Divine Salvation: (a) Spirit- 
ual ; (b) Almighty ; (c) Complete. 
II. Its Central Proclamation — 

Revelation Through Christ : (a) The Living Lord ; 
(b) The Crucified Redeemer. 

IL The Delivery of the Message, . . 19 

I. The Messengers. 
II. Their Preparation — 

(a) Experience ; (b) Character; (c) Knowledge ; 
(d) The Gift of the Spirit. 

III. Their Methods — 

1. The Plan of Campaign : (a) From Jews to Gen- 
tiles ; (b) From Center to Circumference ; (c) 
From Homes to Communities ; (d) From Lower 
to Upper Classes ; (e) From Man to Man. 

2. The Presentation of the Gospel: (a) Positive; 

(b) Defensive; (c) Constructive. 

3. Features of the Preaching: (a) Descriptive 
Terms ; (b) Example of Our Lord ; (c) St. Paul 
as a Preacher. 

ix 



X CONTENTS 

Chaptxr Fags 

III. The Reception op the Message, . . 66 

1. Faith. 
II. Rbpentanoe. 

III. Regknebation. 

IV. Conversion. 

IV. Summary and Suggestions, ... 79 

I. The Meaning of Evangelism. 

II. The Place of Evangelism in the Ministry op 
THE Church. 

III. The Tests of Revival — 

1. The Purity and Completeness of the Message. 

2. The Character of the Evangelist. 

3. The Quality of the Experience : Depth ; Ex- 
tension; Permanance. 

IV. Incidental Features of a Revival. 



PART II 
EVANGELISM IN HISTORY 

Chaptbb 

I. The Pre-reformation Church, . . 91 

Continuity of Christian Faith : Intrusion of Non- 
Christian Elements ; Conflict of Evangelical Re- 
ligion, a New Legalism ; Defective Evangelism of 
the Middle Ages. 

II. The Churches of the Reformation, . . 96 
Section I. Germany — 

Causes of Religious Depression; Progress of 

Pietism. 

Section II. Scotland — 

Celtic Church ; Times of the Reformation ; The 
Period of the Covenants; The Eighteenth Cen- 
tury ; The Evangelical Revival — Chalmers ; The 
Revival of 1859 ; Moody and Henry Drummond. 



CONTENTS xi 

Ohaptbb II.— Continued Faox 

Section III. England — 

1. The Anglican Type. 

2. The Puritan Type. 

3. The Methodist Type. 

Section IV. The United States of America — 

1. The Great Awakening. 

2. The Kentucky Eevival. 

3. Nettle ton and Finney. 

4. 1857-1859. 

5. D. L. Moody: (a) His Message; (b) Method; 
(c) Power ; (d) Educational Work. 



PART III 
EVANGELISM IN THE MODERN CHURCH 

Ohaptbb 

I. The Power, 14=1 

I. The Need op Power. 

II. The Promise of Power — 

(a) Personal ; (b) Active ; (c) Efficient. 

III. The Operation of the Power — 

1. Conditioned by Prayer. 

2. Exerted by Means of the Ministry of the Word. 
?. Direct in its Action on the Human Spirit. 

II. The Spheres of Evangelism, . . . 154 

Section I. The Home — 

Possibility and Importance of Religion in Child- 
hood and Youth ; Development of the Child Soul ; 
Perils of the Transition Period ; Opportunity and 
Charge of the Parents. 

Section II. The Congregation — 

1. Evangelism, the Minister's Own Proper Work. 

2. The Minister's Preparation for Evangelism. 

3. Pastoral Evangelism: (a) Visitation; (b) Ed- 
ucation ; (c) Public Worship, and the Sermon ; 
(d) Sacraments ; (e) Organization for Evangelism. 



xii CONTENTS 

Ohaptbr 11.— Continued, Paok 

Section III. The Community — 

I. Persons Composing the Community. 

1. The Crowd: (1) Natural Groups, Relation 
of the Gospel to them, (a) Special Adapt- 
ability of the Gospel ; (b) Universality of 
the Gospel. 

(2) Artificial: "Mass" Evangelism — its 
Perils and Possibilities. 

2. Individuals: Personal Evangelism — {l)The 
Duty; (2) The Difficulty; (3) The En- 
deavor. 

II. The Church and the Community. 

1. Instrument and Accessories: (1) Physical 
Necessities ; (2) Social Needs and Capaci- 
ties ; (3) Mutual Service. 

2. Direct Evangelism: (1) Individual Work. 
(2) Forms of Aggressive Work; (3) Con- 
tinuous Evangelistic Services: (a) By One 
Congregation ; (b) By a Group of Congrega- 
tions ; (c) By Interdenominational Action. 

III. Tkainikg foe Evai^gelism, . . . 238 

I. The Classes of Agents Required. 
II. Methods op Training. 

1. Training Common to All Evangelistic Workers. 

2. Training Required by Specialists. 

8. Training Required by Candidates for the Min- 
istry. 

(1) Theological Studies Required of All. 

(2) Vocational Courses. 

(3) Direct Training in Evangelism. 
Appendices. 

Papers, dealing with the subject of " The 
Simultaneous Method of Evangelism,'' prepared 
by Rev. J. G. Shearer, D. D., Secretary of the 
Board of the General Assembly of the Presby- 
terian Church in Canada, on Social Reform and 
Evangelism. 

Section I. Preparation for a Simultaneous Mission. 

Section II. The Conduct of a Simultaneous Mission. 

Section III. Work Following Upon a Simultaneous 
Mission. 

Letter by De. Kilpatrick to a Young Missionbr. 



PART I 

EVANGELISM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER I 

THE MESSAGE 

The message proclaimed by the Apostles of the 
Lord was, in one sense, not a new thing in the his- 
tory of Israel. In every age God had sent His 
messengers to His people, to make known to them 
His saving grace. The nation had been created 
in a great act of God's redemptive power. *^ Be- 
hind the people's national life," says Dr. David- 
son, *4ay the consciousness of redemption as 
much as it lies behind the life of the Christian." 
The history of religious experience in Israel is 
that of the deepening and purifying of this con- 
sciousness of redemption. 

Age after age the need of Israel grew more 
profound, and with every new realization of hu- 
man need there came a new declaration of God's 
purpose, and God's power, to redeem and save 
His people. This declaration is the very essence 
of Evangelism; and thus it may be truly said 
that Evangelism dates from the deliverance of 
the people from Egyptian bondage, and is carried 
on, in every succeeding generation, by the serv- 
ants of the Lord, the burden of whose message 

3 



4 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

continually is that Jehovaii saves them tliat trust 
Him. 

At marked epochs in the history of Israel, 
when the need of man and the grace of God are 
passing onward to new depths and heights, Evan- 
gelism gains in scope and power, and approxi- 
mates more and more to the fulness of the New 
Testament Gospel. 

Such a period, in particular, was the time of 
the Exile in Babylon. Zion sat desolate among 
her ruined walls and palaces. Jerusalem mourned 
her desecrated temple, and her lost sons and 
daughters. The people wept, in the far-off land 
of their estrangement, for the homeland and the 
ancient privileges. 

Then there came through prophetic lips the 
Glad Tidings that God had not forsaken His peo- 
ple, that Salvation, in a sense and measure 
greater than the past had ever known, was sure, 
and was at hand. 

It is interesting to note that the very phrases, 
as they occur in LXX^ anticipate New Testament 
usage; e. g.. Is. 40: 9, 10, 6 cmyyeXt^o/Aevos :Sio)v; Is. 

52 : 7, ws cmyyeXi^o/jievos ayaOd ', Is. 61:1, cvayyeXto-acr^at 

TTToixois iTrtaraXKi /xe. Dcvout souls receiving such a 
message as this, and living by its power, felt 
themselves called and qualified t;o deliver it to 
those who needed this assurance of God's sal- 
vation; e. g., Ps. 39 (40) : 9, 10, ivayyeXKrdfxrjv Blkmo- 
(Tvvyjv iv CKKkyjcna ficyaXrj . . . KaC to (ToiTrjpiov aira Jr S. y 5 ( 9q) 
ivayyfXCt^eads. rifxipav i$ '^fx€pa<s to o-oiTrjptov avrou. 



THE MESSAGE 5 

Tlie times of the New Testameoat form, the 
climax of this great movement toward the accom- 
plishment of God's saving purpose. Now the 
world's need has reached its profoundest depth. 
Men everywhere are penetrated by the sense of 
it. Eeligion, even in the Gentile peoples, has be- 
come intense and individual, and is characterized 
with a kind of excitement, as though the souls of 
men could bear their pain no longer, and must 
have relief. To such a world, so sinful, so de- 
spairing, God brings near, in Christ, His salvation. 
All that He had ever done for men had been only 
the preparation for this crowning deed. In Christ., 
the long history is finished. In Christ, in His 
death and re'Surrection, God has reconciled the 
world to^ Himself. The Evangelists of the New 
Testament go to the men of their day, Jews and 
Gentiles alike, with this Message, old as human 
need and Divine love, new as the climax, when God 
has fully revealed Himself, and has visited His 
people in His own person, with the fulness of His 
power. The experience, accordingly, which the re- 
ception of this message creates in the hearts of 
those who acknowledge it to be the Word of God, 
is an absolutely new thing in the religious history 
of the world. 

A new day of hope has dawned for men. A 
new era of moral victory has been inaugurated. 
It is the beginning of a new creation. The New 
Testament rings with the note of joy and triumph. 
The apostles and missionaries of Christ proclaim 



6 NEW TESTAMENT EVANaELISM 

their message with exulting confidence. The Glad 
Tidings they have to tell exactly measure the 
greatness of man's extremity, and gloriously un- 
fold the riches of Divine, almighty, regenerative 
grace. 

Let us now endeavor to set ourselves back, in 
imagination, into the times and circumstances of 
the New Testament, and seek to present to our- 
selves more fully the texture and scope of the 
meissage, which thei first evangelists bore t.o^ their 
day and generation. 

In doing so, we shall be studying the meaning 
of that Evangelism which remains the primary 
task of the Christian Church in every age, and 
which is being laid upon us in our day with pecu- 
liar urgency. 

In one word, the burden of the message is Sal- 
vation; and the phrases, in which the message is 
characterized, are descriptive of various aspects 
of the offered Salvation. It is a Salvation for 
those who need it, 'Hhe Goispel of your Salva- 
tion," Ephes. 1:13. Inasmuch as this Salvation 
consists essentially in God's reign over men, the 
proclamation of it is *Hhe Gospel of the King- 
dom,'' Matt. 4: 23, 9: 35, 24: 14. Since, moreover, 
this Salvation was not merely proclaimed by 
Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth, but was actually 
accomplished by Him as the Christ, the Gospel 
is more fully defined as the Glad Tidings of Sal- 
vation through Christ, 'Hhe proclamation of the 
grace of God, manifested and pledged in Christ" 



THE MESSAGE 7 

(Grimm-Tliayer, s. v, cvayycAtov). Accordingly, 
the word ^^ Gospel" is continiially coimected with' 
that gracious Name— ^^ the Gospel of Christ," 
Eom. 15:19, 1 Cor. 9; 12, 2 Cor. 2:12, 9:13, 
10:14, Gal. 1:17, Phil. 1:27, 1 Thess. 3:2; '^thie 
Gospel of our Lord Jesus, ' ' 2 Thess. 1:8; * * the 
Gospel of the Sou of God," Rom. 1:9; ^'the 
Gospel of the Glory oif Christl, ' ' 2 Cor. 4 : 4. 

The Salvation preached has its origin in the 
divine purpose of mercy, and redounds to the 
glory of the wise and holy and powerful love of 
God, and so the Gospel is '4he Gospel of God," 
Mk. 1 : 15, Rom. 15 : 16, 2 Cor. 11 : 7, 1 Thess. 2 : 2, 
8, 9, 1 Peter 4:17; ^Hhe Gospel of God concern- 
ing His Son, ' ' Rom. 1:1-3; '^ the Gospel of the 
grace of God," Acts 20:24; ^^the Gospel of the 
glory of the Blessed God," 1 Tim. 1: 11. 

The consequences of believing the Gospel are 
beyond enumeration; but sometimes the term 
draws with it some conspicuous blessing, and it 
is described as ^4he Gospel of peace," Ephes. 
6:15, or mention is made of ^^the hope of the 
Gospel," Col. 1:23. In such phrases, then, does 
the New Testament express its conviction of the 
divine fact of Salvation. What now are the con- 
stituent elements of this Salvation? What are 
the contents of the Gospel preaiched by the New 
Testament Evangelists. 

1. General features of the Gospel. The sim- 
plest characteristic of salvation is that it is a gift 
of God, while the Goispel is an offer and a sum- 



8 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

mons. It is to be carefully observed, however, 
that our Lord and His apostles never present sal- 
vation after the analogy of a thing, which can be 
taken in some sort of physical fashion, or of a 
proposition, which could be apprehended wholly 
by the intellect and stored in the memory, or of a 
rank, which could be gained and held in some legal 
or ritual manner. Salvation is a divine power, 
operative upon man's spiritual being, and effect- 
ing therein results, which c;orrespond to man's 
constitution, as made in the image of God, and 
meant for God's fellowship. The Gospel declares 
that this divine power is now in full gracious ac- 
tion, and is instantly available for the needs of 
men. At the same time, it demands that this 
divine energy be met, on man's part, with a will- 
ing mind, and a, full unreserved surrender and 
welcome. The Gospel of the New Testament is 
not rightly apprehended in static conceptions, but 
rather in those which are dynamic and personal. 
The New Testament evangelists are conscious of 
being ministers of a power, which has gained its 
highest manifestations, and is passing onward to 
universal victory. The glory of their office con- 
sists in declaring that now, now after so long a 
time, the power of God, which, for His own wise 
purpose. He has limited and restrained, is liber- 
ated and enlarged to its full redemptive capacity, 
and is working with a, freedom and energy corre- 
spondent to the perfections of divine love and 
holiness. The qualities of divine saving energy, 



THE MESSAGE 9 

in this its noblest achievement, may be summed 
up as threefold. 

1. It is spiritual in its naturei, and therefore 
universal in itsi range. From the veiry eiarliest 
times of the Old T'estament, salvation is conceived 
aiS a work of Jehovah for His people. The re- 
ligious development, within the Old Testament 
lies in the direction of ethicizing and spiritualiz- 
ing the conception of the divine saiving energy. 
In epoch after epoch of national history God 
wrought savingly. Form after form of national 
life dissolved; and the saving work of God 
changed its scope. It never ceased, however, nor 
failed; but continually descended closer to the 
springs of individual life, and pressed ever more 
strongly against the limits that confined it to one 
favored people. Now, in Christ, God has removed 
all providential limitations, and has opened the 
wealth of His Kingdom to all mankind. All that 
God can do to save men. He has done in Christ 
Jesus, and will continue to do in unbounded exer- 
cise of grace for all who will receive the Gospel. 
In word and deed, in life and death, Jesus medi- 
ated to men the universal grace of God. His dis- 
ciples, not without hesitation, followed Him; till 
His servant Paul caught more perfectly His mean- 
ing, breathed deep draughts of His spirit, and 
entered upon the highest ministry of which man 
is capable, proclaiming the message of a love, un- 
hindered by any restrictions of race, or religion, 
or sex, or rank, or moral disability. It is not nee- 



10 NEW TESTAMENT EVANaSLISM 

essary to dwell ob the direction, encouragement, 
and warning contained in the New Testament for 
any Church which professes to be apostolic. 

2. It is almighty to achieve its redemptive pur- 
pose. It would not be true to connect religion 
merely with the sense of sin. It is true, however, 
that all great and serious religion does recognize 
the relation of man to God as being, in point of 
fact, abnormal and needing rectification, and does 
believe that in this rectification there is contained 
potentially the satisfaction of every human need. 
The New Testament evangelists cast deep and 
awe-stricken gaze into the deeps of the human 
soul. They find there the guilt of sin as it lies 
under the divine condemnation, and the power of 
sin as it masters and taints and disorders man's 
whole nature, individual and social, and even in 
some vague but real way disturbs the cosmos 
itself. 

With a spiritual intuitioai, which exceeds in 
depth any doctrinal formula^ they call the issue of 
sin, death, L e., the ruin' of man, progressive 
through life, culminating in an unspeakable espe- 
rience, when judgment is heaped upon the impeni- 
tent, in eternal destruction. Over against, the ulti- 
mate and abysmal need of man, the Evangelism 
of the New Testament sets the saving omnipotence 
of God. This is the message : In Christ there is 
forgiveness for that guilt, deliverance from that 
power, victory over that death. 

In the case of some of the New Testament 



THE MESSAGE 11 

evangelists, as in that, of their Lord in His earthly 
ministry, the salvation they proclaim is, as it were, 
countersigned by deliverance of a physical, or 
semi-physical sort^ from disease or other forms 
of disability. But these evils are always looked 
upon as signs and consequences of the presence 
of sin in the world ; and the miracles of salvation 
from them are proofs that the saving power of 
God is in actual operation and is invincible. 
These works are not identical with the salvation ; 
nor are they invariable or normal modes of its 
operation. The salvation is central. Its etfects 
at the circumference, so to speak, of man's life 
may not, and ordinarily do not, immediately ap- 
pear. In like manner, salvation ha,s a real and 
effectual bearing on the social and political rela- 
tions of men. Not, however, till the saving power 
of God be admitted to the depth of man's being, 
and be permitted to control the ethical forces, 
which, in real, though unseen ways, govern all so- 
cial and political relations, can the Gospel have, in 
these directions, its normal and designed results. 
Jesus and His apostles have a ^^ teaching," which 
issues from their * ^ preaching, " an ethic which is 
based on their evangel ; but they do not mingle or 
confuse them, or invert their sequence. The Glad 
Tidings they have to announce is that God has 
come to set men right with Himself, and in that 
all-comprehensive^ reconciliation, all wrongs are 
righted, and every need is met. The apostolic 
ministry is one of reconciliation, and this is the 



12 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ministry whicb the modeirn Ohurcih must fulfil, 
if it is to staoad in tiie evangelical succeission. 

3. It is complete in tlie provision it makes for 
man, and is adequate to every phase of his expe- 
rience. Salvation can not be contracted into the 
forms of abstract human thoughts Unreal alter- 
natives perplexed the men of New Testament 
times, ajid even modem scholars have entangled 
themselves in them. Is tbe Kingdom present or to 
come? Is salvation an experience of tlie present, 
or a dream of the hereafter? Is it negative, an 
escape from the flesh oir from death, or is it posi- 
tive, an affair of spirit and life? The New Testa- 
ment breaks away from such alternatives. It 
grasps life as a whole, in its manifold experiences, 
in its temporal unf oldings, and its eternal issues ; 
and right in the center, in the sacred seat of per- 
sonal being, it sets the salvation of G-od, who-se ful- 
ness neither time nor space can exhaust. This sal- 
vation suffices for heaven, and also for earth ajid 
time. It visits strangers and aliens, and even ene- 
mies of God, as well as the dim millions, who know 
not their birthright, and oif ers them the rank and 
privilege of sons of God. It comes down to the 
slaves, whether of ancient or modern times, and 
certifies them of a love that knows their case, and 
has identiiied itself with them in their extremity. 
Thus by bestowing upon them friendship with 
God, it confers upon them liberty of spirit. It 
reaches the oppressed, and comfortiS all griefs 
with the remembrance that God has stooped be- 



THE MESSAGE 13 

neatli the load of human sorrow. It touches those 
who ha,ve sunk under the burden of sin till they 
have despaired of manhood ; and giveis them hope, 
that through the gracious strength of a, Redeemer 
they may regain their lost rank, and even yet 
fulfil their destined function. It penetrates so 
deeply into the mystiery m which our human life 
is involved that it gives tO' mortal men entrance 
upon a resurrection power, which neither death 
nor the grave can defea^t. 

II. The Central proclamation of the Gospel. 
The New Testament carries to its consummation 
the Old Testament knowledge of God. God is not 
pure Being or Substance, aiS an Oriental Pantheist 
might think of Him, in which case salvation would 
be reached by the absorption of the individual in 
the universal. Nor is He pure Thought, as Greek 
philosophy in its greatest days conceived Him, in 
which case salvation would be reached by the path 
of intellect. Nor is He the inscrutable One to 
whom no' predji<?iateis apply, union with whom is to 
be gained, as Neoplatonism taught, in a, moment 
of ecstatic rapture. He is the God of personal, 
ethical energy, who from the beginning of time 
has been working to perfect what He has designed 
for men, and, in particular, to redeem them from 
the moral evil which is their most terrible disaster. 
And now His long task is finished, though the goal 
be only the starting point of a new and more splen- 
did history of grace. In the Person of His Son 
and Servant, Jesus Christ, God is present, in the 



14 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

perfect revelation of His character and the full 
triumphant manifestation of His saving power. 
Here is the heart of the Gospel— God in Christ, 
reconciling the world to Himself. From this point 
of view, salvation is the work of God, which He 
has historically wrought out in Christ Jesus, and 
which He now fulfils spiritually and experiment- 
ally in the lives of those who acknowledge Christ 
as Saviour and Lord. It is, indeed, an amazing 
thing that men, who had no doubt whatever as to 
the humanity of Jesus, should have preached Him 
as the living embodiment of God's saving power; 
and should have claimed on His behalf such faith 
and worship as can rightly be rendered to God 
alone ; and should have done this, moreover, with- 
out any sense' of possible rivalry with that glory 
which is a Divine prerogative, and, indeed, should 
have taught that trust in Jesus is the only way of 
faith in God, the only condition of that knowledge 
of God, in which life and salvation consist. Yet 
our astonishment ought not t,0' hinder our acknowl- 
edgment, to which we are constrained by the evi- 
dence, (a) that this faith in Christ was the pro- 
found conviction of all the New Testament writ- 
ers, even the least doctrinal among them, and 
formed at once the inspiration of their missionary 
activity and the hearti's core of their evangel: (b) 
that, in Christ's own consciousness, the sense of 
a unique relation to God, unshared by other men, 
and a unique vocation on man's behalf, was deeply 
rooted, and found expression in revealing words 



THE MESSAGE 15 

and phrases which may have been misinteTpreted 
by theologians, but have warranted and indeed 
demanded the highest ascriptions of Divine glory, 
which adoring faith has ever rendered to Him. 
The New Testament, accordingly, is a unit in 
giving Jesus the place of primacy in the Grospel. 
He is the First and the Last in it, He is the sum 
and substance of it. ^^The Gospel is constituted 
by the Presence of the Son in the world, and the 
place given to Him in religion *' (Denney, *' Jesus 
and the Gospel, '* p. 300). He is not a prophet, 
proclaiming a new truth about God and man ; He 
is the Truth incarnate. He is not a herald, an- 
nouncing a coming Kingdom ; the Kingdom has 
come in His person, and is indeed the power of 
God centered in Him and mediated by Him. It is 
to Himself primarily, and not to selected sayings 
or doings of His that the thoughts of men are di- 
rected. It is upon Himself, as a Person, that the 
movement of the human spirit, variously desig- 
nated as faith or repentance, is concentrated, and 
this is the condition of salvation and the very es- 
sence of religion. Men are saved when they come 
to Him, or give themselves to Him, i. e., when they 
open their lives to His gracious influence and sub- 
mit themselves to> His redemptive power. The 
vindication of this claim that in Jesus Christ the 
saving power of God has been once for all incar- 
nated, lies in two facts regarding Him. (1) He is 
the Living Lord. Not all the eloquent and rhetor- 
ical phrases that might be applied to Jesus of Naz- 



16 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

areth womld make Him] Saviour, or estaMisb His 
STiprema.cy, imless He is nofw^ living and reigning 
in absolute lordship in the realm of moral and 
spiritual being. Even the ascription to Him of 
individual immortality would not guarantee the 
universal and eternal triumph of His mission, or 
warrant the preaching of His Gospel. Nothing 
can do this save His resurrection. All New Testa- 
ment evangelism is grounded upon the fact that 
Christ is risen; and the proof of this fact is the 
twofold witness: (i) that He has revealed Himself 
to His disciples in His personal identity; (ii) that 
He haiS es:ercised the prerogative of God in send- 
ing to His waiting servants the gift of the Holy 
Spirit. Apart from the fact, thus certified, there 
could have been no New Testament evangelism. 
It is sober sense to say, regarding the history of 
the Church in all ages, and in all fields of its oper- 
ation, that, apart from this fact of the Resurrec- 
tion, evangelism is impossible. Other things may 
be preached, but the Gospel of Christ— never ! 
Other names may be borne, but not, with any his- 
torical justification, tlie name of Chlristian. (2) 
He is the Crucified. The death of Christ, the risen 
and glorified Lord, does not need to be apologized 
for. From the very beginning of the Gospel the 
death of the Messiah was preached as an integral 
part of His vocation; and, as that vocation was 
more deeply understood through study of Scrip- 
ture, and the interpretation of an actually expe- 
rienced ChristiaQ salvation, the death was seen to 



THE MESSAGE 17 

contain inexhaustible ricliesi of meaning and 
pO'Weir. The NefW Testament evangelist s never 
reach finality in their descriptions of the work of 
Christ. But with nnfailing instinct they tnrn to^ 
the Cross as the instrnment of its fulfilment. The 
saving power of God, which seemed to be defeated 
at the Cross, won there its victory. Sin, which lay 
as a burden upon the heart of Jesus all His life, 
was carried by Him in unknoiwn anguish! upon the 
Cross, so* that the guilt and power of it need no 
longer oppress the conscience and will of men. 
*^ Christ died for us'' stands out before every 
Christian, and all that believers know of deliver- 
ance, and restoration, and power and joy and hope, 
they trace to the deed of Calvary, and are awak- 
ened thereby to a passion of adoring gratitude, 
which can scarcely be expressed, far less ex- 
hausted, by any service, however abuudant its wit- 
ness, or profound its sacrifice. The doctrine of 
atonement was* never stereotyped, but Christ was 
never preached save as crucified ; and ' ' the Word 
of the C'roiss" is> the New T'estaimemt synonym for 
the Gospel. Christ isi never preached in the New 
Testament sense, unless it be declared that sin, as 
guilt and power has been vanquished through our 
Lord's cross and passion, and unless the guilt- 
laden and the enslaved are directed to cast, them- 
selves upon the mercy of God manifest and tri- 
umphant in the death of His Son. A preaching 
which terminates with Christ as teacher, example, 
reformer, and the like is not the whole message 
2 



18 NEW TESTAMENT EVA:NGELISM 

of the New Testament. That Christ should have 
such rank assigned Him by those who do not claim 
to be Christians, is good, but not sufficient. That 
Christ should be preiached in no> higher sense by 
men, whoi hold office in the Christian Church, is 
lamentable, and reflects if not upon their intelli- 
gence, then upon their honesty. That He should 
be adoringly conceived as the crucified Saviour, 
and not be habitually and persistently preached in 
the glory of His dying and undying love, is im- 
possible. If, through deference to the trend of 
opinion, mo^re or less scientific, Christ has not so 
been preached, the call to the Church is, surely, 
now to return to the spirit and method of New 
Testament Evangelism, and preach to the change^ 
less need of the world, with a conviction and fer- 
vour too deep for hysteriai, too holy and reverent 
for sensationalism, Jesus Christ and Him cruci- 
fied. No; other message is the power of God unto 
salvation. 



CHAPTER II 

THE DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 

I. The Messeitgees. In the nature of the case, 
every man who acknowledges Jesus as Lord, 
stands pledged to act as herald of the King. The 
Gospel is an invitation, accompanied by very ten- 
der assurances of welcome, and very gracious 
promises of blessing, Mk. 2 : 17, Matt. 11 : 28-30. 
But the grace does not disguise the authority; 
and the invitation does not lower the claim. To 
accept Christ means also to confess Him before 
men, Matt. 10 : 32-33, Rom. 10 : 9. The call to enter 
the Kingdom is not merely a welcome to all its 
privileges, but is also a summons to serve all its 
interests, and its most vital interest is the procla- 
mation to all the world of Jesus a,s Saviour and 
Lord. Evangelism, accordingly, is the business of 
every Christian. The New Testament does not 
so much insist on this, as presuppose it. The loyal 
discharge of this duty was not incompatible with 
abiding in the ordinary relations and engagements 
of the home and of society ; though it might very 
well happen in individual cases that loyalty to 
Christ involved separation from the normal tasks 
and joys of life, Mk. 10 : 21, Lk. 9 : 57-62. In every 
case the call is to a service, the essence of which 

19 



20 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

is the delivery of the message that Jesus saves 
from sin, and meets the need created by man's 
alienation from God. It can not be too plainly 
stated that evangelism is the duty of all to whom 
the Gospel has approved itself as the power of 
IGod to salvation. 

Evangelism, however, is the task not only of 
the individual, but of the Church, acting as a so- 
ciety, and acting, as societies must do, through 
chosen agents. Tc some s elect eid members is 
given the peculiar honor and trust of evangelizing 
those who have not heard the salvation of God, 
Gal. 1:7-9. Their special function is to make 
Christ known in His gracious promise and His 
royal claim. They are His apostles, or the apos- 
tles of the Churches, 2 Cor. 8 : 23, or specifically 
they are *' evangelists ' ' (a term which seems syn- 
onymous with apostles"). These men are, in 
erffect, missionaries, and are the instruments by 
which the Church is planted and extended. Apart 
from evangelism, the Church would not have come 
into being, and would not have contmued in vi- 
tality. How long would the Corinthian Church 
have survived upon ^^ wisdom,'' or the Galatian 
Churches upon their legalism? Suppose the 
Churches founded by the apostles had turned in- 
ward upon themselves and become mere schools 
of the initiated, what would have become of Chris- 
tianity? 

The history of the New Testament Church 
amply warrants the conclusion that evangelism is 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 21 

the primary duty of every Chjistian community, 
and that the spiritual vigor of every congregation 
of Christians, and of every individual element 
therein, depends on the fidelity with which this 
task is pursued. If the New Testament presents 
the norm of a, living Church, we may reckon it, as 
an established principle that the life and power of 
a Church depend on its evangelism, i. e., on its 
loyal adherence to the message, and its unwearied 
proclamation of it. It is not necessary to labor 
this point, though it may be necessary to revive in 
our own hearts, with a new sense of obligation, 
the urgency and scope of this Divine law of life 
and health. The Gospel is not a philosophy; it 
is Good News. The Church is not an academy; 
it is the instrument of evangelism. For the sake 
of the world, whose need has never varied; for 
the honor of the Redeemer, whose name is above 
every name, either of philosopher or of states- 
man ; for the continuance and growth of the 
Church as the household of faith and the seed plot 
of righteous living; for the strength of our own 
purpose and the reality of our own communion 
with God, we are summoned to the task which lies 
at the heart of privilege. 

II. The Prepahation" of the New Testament 
Evangelist. 

It is most instructive to observe that the prep- 
aration of the evangelist is, in its broad aspects, 
identical with that which fitiS any Christian for 



22 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the fulfilment of his Christian function. Every 
Christian is to be an evangelist; and the evangel- 
ist who has a special field of labor is simply a 
Christian prepared by ordinary discipline for any 
Christian task. Moreover, when we examine the 
New Testament we find that the preparation for 
Christian lif e^ and usefulness is not stereotyped or 
reduced to rule. The New Teistament is improp- 
erly employed when an attempt is made to copy 
its usages or formulae. It becomes of intense in- 
terest and endless suggestiveness when we realize 
its central aims and watch the infinite adaptability 
of its fundamental principles. Since the great 
fact that the salvation of God has been communi- 
cated, that Christ is risen and is the Saviour of 
the world, what qualifications ought they to have 
whose supreme business in life is tO' proclaim and 
vindicate so marvelous ai tiruth? 

1. Experience. Plainly, since the message de- 
clares that the saving power of God is vested in 
Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, the messenger 
must himself be the subject of that power, through 
definite surrender of himself in religious trust and 
reverence to Christ In, and with, and above 
every other qualification, he must possess and ac- 
knowledge an abiding sense of debt to Christ, and 
to the love sealed upon the Cross. This is the sim- 
plest, most comprehensive condition of New Testa- 
ment evangelism. Without it no man is fit to de- 
clare the Christian Gospel. With it the humblest 
and least lettered has the message by hearty and 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 23 

is commissioned for tlie service. This does not 
imply, of course, tliat tiie experience whicli fits 
for evangelism is formally the same in every evan- 
gelist. The fact of accomplished redemption is 
indeed the same for all sonls ; but the experience 
in which this is appreciatied and appropriated va- 
ries from sonl to soul. The New Testament is full 
of life, variety, originality. Individuality of per- 
sonal experience and, consequently, distinctive- 
ness in ' ' conceptions of Christianity, ' ' are deeply 
marked in the New Testament portraits of itiS mis- 
sionairy heroes, e. ^., Peter, Paul, James, John, 
Apollos. That, in which all New Testament pre- 
sentations of Christianity are at one, is the Gos- 
pel, the Good News of redemption, the invitation, 
and the summons to faith in the living Lord. The 
Gospel, which is comprehended in the Person of 
Christ, and is apprehended by individual experi- 
ence of its saving power, is the theme and stand- 
ard of New Testament evangelism. 

2. Character. The message is not identical 
with the phrases in which it may be uttered. If 
it were, the personal character of the messenger 
would matter little. That * ' there is one God and 
Mahomet is His prophet, ' ' may be powerfully pro- 
claimed by men who have no moral character. In 
like manner, an orthodox Christian proposition, 
e, g., that Christ is of one substance with the 
Father, or that He exists in two natures and one 
person forever, may be cogently argued and force- 
fully preached by men who are utterly un-Christ- 



24 NEW TESTAMENT EiVANGELISM 

like in tlie spirit and manner of their lives. So, 
too, heterodox views as to the birth of Christ or 
His miraeleis oir His resurreiction maiy he bril- 
liantly and attractively advocated by men, who 
have no other qualifications than a little learning 
and a great deal of conceit. But the advent of the 
King can be heralded only by one, who is ethically 
and spiritually His representative. The claim 
thait Christ is Lord must be vindicated, first of all, 
in the lives of those who ascribe to Him so exalted 
an authority. To declare that Jesus saves from 
a sin, in which the evangelist lies bound, is a hide^ 
ous travesty, which makes evangelism impossible. 
The New Testament evangelist stands committed 
to the full height of the New Testament ethic, and 
comes under the overwhelming obligation of that 
holiness, which consists in the likeness of Christ. 
For his refusal of that standard, for failure in 
that duty, he will suffer severe discipline. In the 
end he may be saved, yet '*so as by fire." Such 
a law, which the New Testament binds absolutely 
on every witness for Christ, might well daunt 
those who believed that the call to evangelism 
had come to them, but for twoi facts. In the first 
place, no man can be a Christian at all, who' does 
not acknowledge this same obligation. There are 
no grades of New Testament morality. A man 
can not escape its exigency by declining the task 
of evangelism. In the second place, the complete^ 
ness of the Christian character is not a goal to be 
toiled after by the way of legalism or asceticism. 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 25 

It is a possession of every man who has accepted 
Christ, the incarnated fulness of God. It is true, 
that this, which is his, he has still to make his, in 
watchfulness and endeavour and self-discipline, 
and prayer ; but it lies at the roots of his personal 
life as motive, inspiration, and power ; and by the 
grace of the Divine Spirit, it will bloom in the 
beauty of Christ, and bear fruit to the Father's 
glory. There is, therefore, no room for despair, 
and none for refusal of the call. But there is 
great reason for intense carefulness. The moral 
failures of an evangelist, like Barnabas, have to 
be paid for in loss of usefulness and honor, as well 
as in ways more inward and more painful. Evan- 
gelists, like Timothy, afflicted with certain weak- 
nesseis of character, require rebuke and counsel 
and ringing cheer, e. g,, 2 Tim. 1 : 7. While thus 
the evangelist must rise to the fullness of the 
Christian type, he would need to be an expert in 
those athletic exercises by which the Apostle Paul 
(for instancei) trained himself for the arena., and 
would need to exhibit in eminent degree those 
heroic and soldierly virtues which redeem the 
Christian ethic from the reproach of passivity. 
One virtue crowns all missionary activity, and is 
the condition of all evangelistic triumph, viz., loy- 
alty to the Lord. One vice defeats all effort and 
paralyzes every tialenti, viz,, ai divided heiairt. 

3. Knowledge of tine Word. The apostles and 
evangelists of the New Testament Church had it 
as their peculiar honor, and highest function, to 



26 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

*' speak tlie word of God.'' To know that word, 
accordingly, is, for them, fundamental and indis- 
pensable. The knowledge of the word, which is 
possible, will depend on the nature of the word. 
Were it of the nature of a philosophical theory, or 
of an ^ ^ occult teaching, ' ' the knowledge of it would 
be obtained by a discipline almost wholly intel- 
lectual. The point of view of the New Testament^ 
however, differs by a wide diameter from that 
either of Greece ot of the Orient. ^^The Word,'* 
as it is briefly described, (Mk. 2 : 2, 4 : 14, Acts 6 : 4, 
8 : 4, 17 : 11, 1 Thess. 1 : 6, 2 Tim. 4 : 2 ; and often) is 
the living Word of God, and is instinct with His 
life. To know it requires moral likeness to God, 
To speak it is not to state propositions, or an- 
nounce symbols, but to be the human vehicle of a 
searching, illuminatiing, quickening power. Such 
was the word as Jesus spoke it, Lk. 4 : 32, Jn. 6 : 63, 
15 : 3. Such is the power which the Word of God 
has, when He speaks it through His messengers, 
Heb. 4: 12— ^^ a moral force, all-pervading, all-dis- 
cerning, for it is indeed the force of God." In 
the mighty, sustaining consciousness of uttering 
such a voice as this, not human but Divine, the 
New Testament evangelists went forth upon their 
errand. It is not too much to say that that con- 
sciousness must be revived, if, in any age, evan- 
gelism is to be a spiritual power in the Church. 
The Word of God is not a series of phrases ; 
it is not a book. It comes with, nay, it is iden- 
tical with, a Person, who is at once the Son, 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 27 

and tlie Word, of Grod. Those who know the 
Word of God are they in whom the Son has been 
revealed. They learn their message in the ex- 
periences which are theirs through faith in Christ. 
The contents of the Word are gathered through 
apprehension of what Christ has done for the 
salvation of men, and of the corresponding glory 
of His character and person. 

This Word, which Christ uttered, and which, 
in the highest sense, He is, did not, however, re^ 
main unheard till He came. It had been sound- 
ing with growing clearness all through the his- 
tory of His people, and fainter echoes had been 
heard among the Gentiles also. The New Testa- 
ment is full of an historic consciousness; it re^ 
cognizes an unbroken continuity in the action of 
God in salvation. Between the Word, accord- 
ingly, which is Christ, and the Word as it is 
heard in Prophet and Psalmist, there is a deep 
congruity. What God spoke ^^at sundry times 
and in divers manners,'' gains its interpretation 
from what He has said finally and fully in His 
Son; and ai the same time illumines the mean- 
ing of that last and supreme Word of Salvation. 
It was, therefore, part of the equipment of one, 
whose vocation was to speak the Word of God, 
to be at home in those Scriptures which, in their 
broad scope and dominating purpose, testified 
of Christ; even as Apollos, who was ^^ mighty in 
the Scriptures," Acts 18:24. The exhibition of 
the correspondence between the Scriptures and 



28 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the Word was of immense valuei, as a defence 
and argument, in dealing witb Jewish critics and 
enqnirers. Even among Grentiies, it would be 
most impressive to set forth the Gospel as a 
great harmony of the Divine action, extending 
through the ages, culminating in Christ, and now 
pressing, with solemn urgency, and gracious in- 
vitation, upon human hearts everywhere. 

Further, the very speaking of the Word un- 
folded its inner wealth and exhibited its ceaiSe- 
less application to the needs of men. The Gos- 
pel as preached is the Word of God; and the 
statement and exposition of it on the lips, or 
from the pens of apostolic men were embodi- 
ments of the Word or messages As these came 
to be written down, in the form of narrative, or 
letter, and were disseminated throughout, the 
Churches, knowledge of them, as well as of Old 
Testament prophecy became necessary for those 
who spoke the Word. They, too, became Scrip- 
ture, and were read as such, 2 Peter 3 : 15, 16. 
In process of time such writings were gathered 
together, and the New Testament, as we have it, 
came into existence, a living unity, having in it 
the discriminating and quickening energy that 
belongs to every word of God. Thus the whole 
*^Word" is complete'. Its fulness is contained in, 
and is identical with, the Living Lord Himself. 
The Old Testament and the New Testament to- 
gether contain it, inasmuch as both are full of 
Christ, who both gives to them their organic unity. 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 29 

and lives in them by His Spirit as their inspir- 
ation. Within this universe of revealed grace 
and truth, those who ^^ speak the word," must 
move, continually familiarizing themselves with 
its inexhaustible contents, breathing its atmos- 
phere, and hearkening to the voice of God speak- 
ing home to their own hearts. 

Other writings than these might be appealed 
to, as by Paul on a memorable occasion, (Acts 
17:28) for these also convey a Word of God to 
the conscience of men. But they cannot, in the 
nature of the case, utter the ** message of salva- 
tion;'' and accordingly, their use by New Testar 
ment evangelists was sparing. 

Since the times of the New Testament, meth- 
ods of interpretation have changed and the science 
of historical criticism has been born, has passed 
through its irresponsible youth, and has grown 
to helpful maturity. Nothing, however, can in- 
validate the Word of God, or diminish the value 
of the Scriptures. Knowledge of the Word of 
God, which cannot be gained in any worthy man^ 
ner, apart from intelligent, as well as spiritual, 
understanding of the Scriptures, is still abso- 
lutely indispensable for the conduct of an evan- 
gelism, which shall be true to the spirit of the 
New Testament, and shall be competent to carry 
on the triumphant task of the evangelists and 
founders of the New Testament Church. 

4. Endoivment of the Spirit, The evidence 
of the supremacy of Christ is the gift of the 



30 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Spirit. To believe in Christ, and to receive tHe 
Spirit, are inseparable experiences. They are 
closely connected with one another in temporal 
sequence, and are, ideally, coincident. To be a 
believer in Christ, and to be a recipient of the 
Spirit are parallel designations of the Christian. 
The whole Christian life moves within the sphere, 
and under the influence of the Divine Spirit, who 
is, in man, the organ of G-od's saving operation. 
Growth in the Divine life, development of char- 
acter and discharge of function, are absolutely 
dependent on the Holy Spirit of God. Of no 
department of Christian life and duty is this 
more true than of Evangelism. By the power 
of the Spirit— by this alone— does evangelism be- 
come a saving activity of God, and the evangel- 
ist an effective instrument in God's hand; and 
this implies, as the condition under which the 
Divine Spirit works, the practice of earnest, be- 
lieving, persevering, united prayer. The evan- 
gelism of the New Testament is conducted, in 
the Power of the Spirit, with continual suppli- 
cation and intercession. Through all its narrar 
tive, and in the whole scope of its teaching, the 
New Testament declares that there is no danger 
to the evangelist more deadly than the loss of 
the Spirit^ no boon to be sought more earnestly 
than an increased measure of the Divine endow- 
ment. The place of the Gift of Pentecost is 
significant and vital. The Church had to wait 
till it had received the gift, before it could pro- 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 31 

ceed in its taisk of evangelism. This one instance 
is sufficient to establish the law, which connects 
the gift of the Spirit, with power in missionary 
enterprise. Illustrations of the same principle 
of God's action are to be found in the commis- 
sion of Barnabas and Saul, Acts 13 : 2, 4, and in 
PauPs exhortations to Timothy, 1 Tim. 4:14, 2 
Tim. 1 : 6. All evangelism that is true to the New 
Testament depends absolutely on the promise of 
John 16 : 8-11. Those who enter upon the spirits 
ual inheritance of the New Testament, accord- 
ingly, are summoned to evangelize': but they are 
warned not tO' depend on machinery. All the ele- 
ments in salvation are personal;— the living God, 
the risen Christ, the indwelling Spirit, human 
beings in their great, need, and mem redeemed or 
regenerate, by whom the word is spoken, and 
through whom, as personal media,, the Divine 
saving power normally operates. The need of 
the Spirit is the deepest requirement of every 
^^ forward movement'' in fulfilment of the 
Church's missionary function; the promise is 
sure ; the gift will never be refused to the prayer 
of faith. 

III. Methods of New Testament Evangelism. 

In nothing is the inspiration of the New Tes- 
tament more marked than in its complete free- 
dom from legalism. It contains no code of mo- 
rality, noi stereotyped system of precepts, and no 
set of rules, framed once for all, and imposed 



32 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

upon the activities of men in all ages. Wei nrnst 
not expect to get from the New Testament direct 
and detailed guidance for ttie discharge of any of 
onr functions ais Christians. Commianding prin- 
ciples, inspiring motives, one Supreme Example, 
one Divine energy, are presented to us. We are 
told how the Church in one age, the great age of 
its first advance to the fulfilment of it,s world- 
wide task, acted under the constraint of the love 
of Christ, and by the guidance of the Spirit of 
Ood. But we have none of the minute directions 
which are to' be found in books, prepared by emi- 
nent practical workers, for those who follow them 
in their respective fields. Such a book, prepared, 
for instance, by the Apostle Paul, would be of 
unspeakable interest and value, and would throw 
a flood of light upon the condition of the Church 
and the empire in the first century of our era. 
Conceive, however, such a book, bound up with the 
New Testament, drawing toi itself a. reverence due 
to sacred scripture, compelling obedience to its 
smallest suggestion, and imposed upon the Church 
in all ages and all circumstances as the fixed and 
unalterable method of evangelism. The result 
would be that the Church would go to its work 
hampered by an intiolerable literalism. It is 
amazing, but it is certain, that the Church of the 
first century faced the problem of evangelism 
simply with the express command of Christ and 
the promise of the Spirit, and without an appa- 
ratus of rules and regulations, and without an 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 33 

elaborated macliinery. When we, of tlie modem 
Clmrch, approacli the New Testament to ask for 
help in onr Titanic problem, we must not do so 
in the spirit of literalists and legalists. We must 
preserve the liberty which is the choicest gift of 
Christianity, the liberty of the Sons of God. Our 
evangelism will be the evangelism of the New 
Testament, if we proclaim its message, and re- 
produce its spirit. In respect of method, we are 
freie. It need scarcely be added that, if we are 
thus free in respect of methods that have been 
employed by evangelists of the first century, we 
are at least as free in respect of those of later 
evangelists, whether of the 18th or 19th or 20th 
century. We are born legalists; and a tradition 
grows with astonishing rapidity, and fatal effi- 
cacy. God will have us use His Spirit, and not 
go in the harness of traditional methods. 

While, however, the New Testament does not 
legislate upon the subject of evangelism, it is not 
uninstructive in respect of the methods to be em- 
ployed. The ripening judgment of the TVelve, 
the educative effect of the early councils in Jeru- 
salem, the reports of apostolic men as they came 
back from their evangelistic labors, shaped a 
policy for the Church, from which, in its broad 
outlines, it can never depart. Outstanding as- 
pects of this policy may be indicated as follows : 

1. The Plan of Campaign. The first mission- 
aries followed the lines of least resistance. Even 
as they traversed the great highways, which 

3 



34 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

linked together the farthest ends of the empire, 
so they used the highways of hnman relation- 
ship^ social, ethical, and spiritual, which bind in- 
dividuals and races into the organism of humanity. 
They did not lose themselves, with unintelligent 
enthusiasm, in sporadic preachiog. Along with 
the widest universalism and, indeed, in its interest, 
they carefully selected the spheres of their activ- 
ity, and seized upon strategic points in the highly 
complex civilization, in which their labor lay. 
They practiced, in effect, a science of missions, 
and brought to bear upon their task trained knowl- 
edge of the conditions, religious, political, and 
commercial, amid which it was to be carried on. 
The most careful preparationi for evangelism, at 
home and abroad, which the modem Church can 
secure for its missionaries, is not only warranted, 
but required by the New Testament. 

The lines along which the New Testament 
evangelism moved were such as these: 

(1) From Jews to Gentiles, The Gospel is, 
in one aspect, the consummation of the Jew's 
faith in God. Its. natural progress, accordingly, 
should surely be, through its acceptance among 
Jews to its spread among Gentiles. Its first ap- 
peal, therefore, must be to Jews, who are its 
natural heirs, and ought tO' be its first and ablest 
missionaries. Other obvious considerations de- 
termined the same course: e. g., the position of 
Jews in the empire, in contact with other races, 
but without loss of nationality, rendering them 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 35 

peculiarly adapted to be the agents of a universal 
faith; the existence of the synagogue affording 
an excellent opportunity of discussing new re- 
ligious conceptions among the Jews themselves, 
and a valuable starting point for a mission among 
Gentiles. The importance of a meeting ground, 
where Christian evangelists could come into con- 
tact with men drawing towards a spiritual and 
theistic faith is, obviously, very great. The po- 
sition of the Jew in the modern world is, no 
doubt, greatly altered. Yet it remains true that 
the Jews have the first right to the Gospel, and 
that Jewish advocacy of the salvation of God 
through Jesus Christ would have unique value 
and power. 

More broadly, the principle, involved in thus 
beginning evangelism with the Jews, holds good 
in every age. The evangelist must begin with 
men at the highest point of their moral and re- 
ligious culture, and exhibit the Gospel as the 
crown of the highest truth they have reached, as 
well as the solution of the deepest questions they 
have asked regarding the issues of human life. 

(2) From Centres to Circumferences. The 
New Testament evangelists established the cen- 
tres of their missionary activity in cities, espen 
cially in those in which large and populous prov- 
inces were tributairy, or in which great trade 
routes converged. The reasons for such a policy 
were obvious. In the first place, the city in itself 
presented a kind of epitome of the world's need. 



36 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

No eye, illumined by the light of Christ's love 
for men, could fail to turn with peculiar interest 
and pity upon the masses of population, sheep 
without a shepherd, steeped in ignorance, aflBlicted 
with moral disease, oppressed with social and 
political evils. Here were the ^^sick," which the 
Good Physician had claimed as His special charge^. 
Where would the preacher of Christ go more 
speedily, or labor more passionately than in the 
purlieus of great, wealthy, splendid, wicked, and 
miserable cities, Antioch, and Ephesus, Corinth, 
and Eome? In the second place, i. e.y ganglionic 
centres in imperial civilization, seats of political 
influence and intellectual life, meeting places of 
races and religions, commended themselves to the 
leaders of evangelism, as strategic points to be 
occupied for Christ, bases for advance in the great 
war. Or, to change the figure, it was in cities, with 
their swarming multitudes, including both citi- 
zens and slaves, and aliens of every sort, that 
these ^^ fishers of men'' naturally and wisely ^4et 
down their nets for a draught". 

This twofold interest and importance of the 
city has remained through the ages, and was never 
more conspicuous than in the modern world. In 
a degree never surpassed in the history of the 
Church, the summons of to-day is to city evan- 
gelism. The city is ^^Christianity's storm-cen- 
tre". Its own inherent need is fathomless, its 
problems are stupendous. Its position in the na- 
tion is one of commanding influence. Here is the 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 37 

strategic point. Hold this, and the campaign is 
won. Lose it, and def eiat is inevital3le. Tlie mod- 
em Church mnst betake herself to city evangel- 
ism witlx an intensity and skill whicli have scarcely 
yet been applied t,o the problem. 

(3.) From Homes toi Communities, House- 
holds figure largely in the reports of New Testa- 
ment evangelism. The ethical unit is the family. 
Christianity adopted, while it transfigured, this 
aspect of ancient life. The individualism, which 
is so conspicuous a feature, and so grievous a 
weakness, of tlia modern Church is unknown in 
the religious life of New Testament times. What 
would Paul have said of a family, no two> mem- 
bers of whicb belong to the samei congregation, 
perhaps not even to the same ^^denomination''? 
In the family, Christianity found its stronghold, 
and its chief instrument for the evangelization 
and regeneration of society. The lesson to the 
modern Church is plain and urgent. There must 
be household evangelism; families as such, 
brought under the gracious control of Jesus; 
parents coming withi tbeir children toi God 
through Christ:; parents making the Christian 
life of tbeir children their first and greatest con- 
cern. The Christian home, not a mere aggregate 
of individuals sheltered by the same roof, but the 
family as an organism, living in its head and its 
members by tlie communication of the Divine 
Spirit, and manifesting, according tio tJie various 
place and function of its constituent elements, 



38 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the graces of the Christian character, is a unique 
witness to the nature and power of the Kingdom 
of God, and forms an incomparable means of win- 
ning the world toi ai faith which bears fruit so 
lovely and so precious. 

One feature of the ancient household had spe- 
cial bearing on the propagation of the Gospel, viz., 
the number of slaves which ministered to its neces- 
sities and luxuries. The Gospel made a well nigh 
irresistible appeal at once to the slave's manhood 
and to his sense of need. We can well believe that 
the members of this class would be moved toward 
the evangel of liberty with glad response, and 
would receive it in groups and companies. 

Happily, there is nothing analogous to slavery 
as an institution in modern society, but it is a 
sorrowful fact that oppression and practical en- 
slavement do prevail tO' a shameful extent. Among 
these victims of greed and lust, the Gospel of Di- 
vine grace finds still its special opportunity. It 
sets honor upon manhood and womanhood even 
when they have been beaten into the mire. It ap- 
proaches the depraved and the wretched with in- 
finite compassion and undying hope. The lesson 
of the New Testament is the redemptive and up- 
lifting power that is resident in Him who died 
as a malefactor and reigns as Saviour. The Gos- 
pel is the motive and inspiration of all effort for 
the amelioration of the lot of the oppressed. It 
contains the energy of a comprehensive social 
revolution. 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 39 

But meantime, while the Church and the State 
are slowly being penetrated by the Christian 
spirit, the business of eivangelism must not tarry. 
Christianity would noit have got under way at all, 
had Paul and the New Testament evangelists 
turned aside to labor for the emancipation of 
slaves. With unerring instinct they saw that the 
secret of emancipation and of every social reform 
lay in the human heart ; and hither, to' the hidden 
laboratory of society and of nations, they brought 
the Glad Tidings of God's love and power, and 
bade the enslaved and the oppressed ever3rwhere 
step into the freedom and privilege of sons of God. 
The modern Church has many tasks laid upon it, 
none of which she may refuse. But whatever 
else she undertakes, evangelism, the direct appeal 
of the Cross to the heart of man, she dare not 
neglect, else the doom of fruitlessness will fall on 
all her labor. 

(4) From the Lower to the Upper Classes. It 
is needful to note that the New Testament is as 
free from bitterness as it is from servility. Its 
evangelism has only one aim, to reach men, only 
one policy, to use any opportunity. The New 
Testament evangelists speak with freedom and 
courtesy to men of rank, and welcome them into 
the fellowship of faith. Obviously, however, the 
door of opportunity opened most widely among 
the poor. A Gospel, which proclaimed negatively, 
the insufficiency of outward privilege, and posi- 
tively, the absolute freedom of salvation, would 



40 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

win its swift eist triumplis amoiig those wKoi had 
fewest privileges toi surrender, and had been 
tanght nuost profonndly by the discipline of life 
the very extremity of human need and helpless- 
ness. From the great multitude of the unprivi- 
leged, it might be reckoned, would arise some of 
the finest examples of the Christian spirit, and 
some of the ablest exponents of the Christian 
evangel. 

The New Testament is not so foolish as to 
put any premium upon ignorance oir narrow- 
mindedness; itiS evangelists are not morbid fa- 
natics; it,s thinking is neither crude noT shallow. 
But it does lay profound emphasis upon a knowl- 
edge that is not learnt in the schools, but is 
gained through experience of life, as the sine 
qua non of successful evangelism. An evangelist 
of the New Testament type may be a ripe scholar 
—a good Grecian or a learned philoisopher'— and 
be all the better equipped for his life work. But 
he must belong, by the knowledge which is be- 
gotten of sympathy, and cultivated by fellowship, 
not to one class, but to mankind. Any discipline 
that teaches him knowledge and love of men 
may well be included in his training for his 
vocation. 

(5) From Man to Man, New Testament 
evangelism is flexible and adaptable. It avails 
itself of the psychology of the crowd. The New 
Testament evangelist pursues his calling in tem- 
ple-court, or open street, or market place, at any 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 41 

point where currents of feeling rnn botli wide and 
deep, wherei intieilleictnal power is beigMened, 
where vision is illumined by a flash of light, and 
high resolution is contagious. There ^4n the 
deep'' he casts wide the Gospel net, woven with 
the goodness and righteousness of God, the 
meshes drawn close with argument and appeal, 
rebuke, conviction, and personal invitation. The 
^^mass meeting" of modern evangelism invites 
many criticisms, and must be handled with con- 
scientious care, and the utmost wisdom, if it is 
not to be productive of much mischief. At the 
same time it, finds its warrant in New Testament 
practice, and in the facts of human nature. After 
all due warnings against excitement and sensa- 
tionalism, it remains true that the crowd is a psy- 
chological and ethical unit, and that the individual 
can be reached, and permanently and morally 
influenced for good, in the crowd, and through the 
crowd, as by no other means. 

At the same time. New Testament evangelism 
is never an affair of the public meeting, and of 
vague means of popular emotion. It finds its goal 
always in the formation of a new life purpose 
within the individual soul. The reports, accord- 
ingly, are full of cases of individual dealing. The 
reminiscences of the ministry of Jesus abound in 
them, and they are of peculiar value, both from 
the Divine skill of the soul-winner, and from the 
wide diversity of the cases. The Acts and the 
Epistles are full of the names of individuals rep- 



42 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

resenting personal work done by tlie evangelist, 
and rendered effective by the touch of spirit upon 
spirit, and even by a kind of imparting of spirit to 
spirit. No amount of public ministry, no labor- 
ious service in the machinery of evangelism, can 
evade the obligation of intimate personal deal- 
ing. The Christian has left undone what he ought 
to have done, if he has not made the souls around 
him, one by one a^ he ha,s aecessi to th)em, 
the definite object of a personal ministry. The 
* ^ successful' ' evangelist, who can sway multitudes 
with his pathos and humor, or arouse them to a 
tempest of hymn singing, has missed the greater 
part of his vocation if he has not sought, simply, 
and naturally, and unprofessionally, to win the 
soul, whom the ordinary incidents and provi- 
dences of life brought into contact with him. 

It is worthy of note that the personal dealing, 
illustrated in the New Testament, is wholly un- 
stereotyped. There is noi suggestion of a ^^milP', 
through which all souls are passed; and it may 
be suspected that the methods of some ^^ enquiry 
rooms" and ^^ after meetings'' would have ap- 
palled and horrified our Lord and His apostles. 
Nothing is more remarkable in Christ Himself, 
and in those, like the Apostle Paul, who came near 
Him in spirit, than their exquisite delicacy, their 
profound reverence for human nature, their per- 
fect courtesy as well as their absolute fearless- 
ness, and their utter disregard for any result that 
was not the free surrender of the human spirit 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 43 

under the gracious and mysterious working of the 
Spirit oi: God. 

This refusal to give us a kind of help, which 
would in reality have been disastrous, is an in- 
stance of that Divine wisdom which produced the 
scriptures of the New Testament. 

In the pages of the New Testament, then, we 
see the Roman Empire depicted otherwise than in 
formal and technical histories. We see, not no- 
bles, statesmen, officials, but men massed in great 
cities, lost in crowds, unknown, unrecorded, and 
unremembered, living in deep obscurity, dying and 
making no sign ; and everywhere, among these dim 
multitudes, each item in which is yet of infinite 
value, the heralds of the Cross making known 
the salvation of God, in its glorious fulness, its 
entire suitability to every need, and its immediate 
accessibility to' every human soul. Achievements 
that are merely temporary, glories that are no 
more than transient, have no place in these simple 
and inspired records. Here nothing comes before 
our spiritual apprehension but humanity in its 
changeless need and the Gospel in its everlasting 
power. 

The New Testament, accordingly, can never 
be obsolete. Evangelism, of the type therein set 
forth, is a present duty, in the fulfilment of which 
the modern Church will find demonstration of its 
faith, and revival of its power. 

2. The method of presenting the message. It 
belongs to the very nature of the Gospel that it 



44 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGEUSM 

can not be conveyed in a set of propositions, which 
must be presented in the same phrases and the 
same order under all circumstances, and in the 
hearing of every variety of soul. The New Testa- 
ment is not a textrbook of Homiletics. The re- 
ports of missionary addresses, which it preserves 
foT us {e. g., Acts 2, 4, 17, 22), are instinct with 
the individuality of the speakers, and are marked 
by adaptability to the ethical and psychological 
condition of the hearers, A religion of a lesser 
rank, e. g,, Islam, lives and propagates itself by 
a formula repeated in endless monotony by every 
kind of messenger. Christianity achieves its vic- 
tory by the living Word of God, reproduced under 
innumerable conditions of experimental apprehen- 
sion, and applied under the ever varying condi- 
tions of human susceptibility. The New Testa- 
ment, accordingly, can not be quoted in favor 
of a preaching which forces all kinds of texts 
into one formal statement, and inflicts it with 
deadening effect upon all sorts, of audiences ; just 
as it condemns absolutely the practice of using 
texts as pegs, on which to hang a series of re- 
marks, striking or otherwise, which, in any case, 
have no title to be regarded, and (to do the 
preachers justice), are not by themselves consid- 
ered as being a message from God. How high a 
demand is made upon a preacher of the New Tes- 
tament type, what humility it requires of him, 
what diligence in study, what carefulness in utter- 
ance, what intensity of self -discipline, what cul- 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 45 

ture of tlie Divine life, needs no elaboration. And 
what is true of all preaching, is particularly true 
of that which, indeed, all preaching ought to be, 
the direct delivery of the Grospel message. ^^I 
think I shall not preach a sermon to-night, I '11 
merely give an evangelistic address." Who does 
not know the issue of such a resolve, whether 
made in sheer laziness, or in less blameworthy 
physical lassitude! The platitudinous style, the 
vapid thinking, the jejune arguments, the impos- 
sible illustrations, the spurious emotion, the par- 
rot-like repetitions! Is it any wonder that the 
very name of evangelism sickens a, congregation 
which demands, not merely something to> satisfy 
its intelligence, but a word, however simple, which 
carries with it the sense of reality, and forms a 
link between infinite grace and urgent need? 

At the same time, the refusal of the New Tes- 
tament to give directions, which would hinder 
rather than help, does not mean that the evangelist 
is left to himself as to how or what he shall preach. 
Certain qualities of New Testament Gospel 
preaching are manifest and form an unvarying 
standard. 

(1) It is positive. It expresses the character- 
istic quality of salvation, that it is God-in-Christ, 
acting as a redemptive and ethical energy for the 
salvation of men. It is, therefore, fundamentally, 
not discussion but declaration. It has something 
to tell about God, His character and His purpose, 
as these are seen in what he ha^s actually done, in 



46 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

history, and, supremely, in Christ, to deliver men 
from sin, and bring them to Himself. How the 
story shall be told, in what style or order, the 
New Testament does not determine. But it does 
prescribe thiat the story shall be fully told, with 
such clearness and emphasis as shall make its 
spiritual significance plain, and its application to 
man's case aiS a sinner beyond possibility of mis- 
apprehension. When we examine the evangelism 
of the New Testament more closely, studying the 
reports of actual addresses, we find that the fol- 
lowing elements are included in its statement of 
the Gospel. 

(a) Declaration of the fact of the Resurrec- 
tion of Christ. This is central and invariable. 
Christ is never preached, save as the Living Lord. 
Neither the Eesurrection nor the Death of Christ 
is treated as merely a physical fact.. Each is a 
moral as well as a physical fact. Together they 
constitute one complete redeeming achievement, 
and the declaration of it is either, briefly, the word 
of the Cross, or the witness of the Eesurrection. 
To declare this twofold act, and the salvation se- 
cured thereby, is the primary task of evangelism. 
When the Church is no longer able to- point to the 
Crucified and Risen Christ as God's great Word 
and Deed for the salvation of men, when it falls 
back on lower categories for the interpretation 
of its Lord, and talks, however eloquently and 
learnedly of nothing more than *^ Example," 
** Teacher," ^^ Reformer," and the like, its mission 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 47 

to the world will have ceased, and it will no more 
be worth the support, financial or other, of self- 
respecting persons. 

(b) Illustration and verification of the concep- 
tion of Messiahship, through the life and char- 
acter of the historic Jesus. The ^ ' evangels ' ' rep- 
resent one great a,speict of New Testament ^^evan- 
gelism." Toi tell stories about Jesus, such simple 
self-evidencing narrativeis, as the synoptists tell, 
how He spoke and acted, was gentle to sinners, 
tender to little children, compassionate to the sor- 
rowful, how He healed the sick and brought the 
unimagined power and goodness of God to all 
kinds of needy human creatures, how no stain of 
sin rested on Him, how He died and how He lived 
again; this was, in effect, at once to explain and 
to prove His Messiahship. This Jesus, even One 
so meek and lowly in spirit, so holy, harmless, and 
undefiled, so separate from sinners, and yet so 
sympathetic with them that it seemed as though 
He carried their very sicknesses, and finally bore 
their very sins in His own body to the Tree, this 
is God's Messiah, His answer to man's cry for a 
Saviour. It is to be remembered, as we seek 
guidance in the New Testament, for our modern 
evangelism, that it is really a unity. There were 
no ^'Pauline" churches, if that mean that there 
were groups of Christians brought up wholly on 
great theological conceptions, like justification, or 
profound mystical expressions like the indwelling 
of Christ. The veiry peiople, to whom such pro- 



48 NEW TESTAMENT EVANaEMSM 

found ideas weire offered as interpretations of 
tJieir experiences, were under daily instruction in 
tlie tradition conceirning Jesus, had tlieir faith in- 
formed and tlieir emotion quickened by these nar- 
ratives which are grouped in the synoptic gospels. 
The Christ, whose great saving functions were the 
theme of Paul's letters, was this Jesus, of whom 
these noble and moving stories were told. This 
Jesus was. He alone could be, such a Messiah as 
Jew and Gentile would trust in, and own as Lord. 

Evangelism, therefore, must include the vivid 
narrative of the life of Christ. The amount and 
preciousness of the material contained in the four 
Gospels are Imown by all who have used them in 
proclaiming the Good News, or have studied the 
use of them by the great masters of evangelistic 
preaching. 

(c) Unfolding the scope of the salva,tion se- 
cured by the death of Christ. For Jewish hear- 
ers, this could be done with convicting power 
through Old Testament prophecy. ^ ^ Beginning at 
Moses and all the prophets" these preachers, in- 
structed by the Eisen Lord, expounded to their 
hearers in all the Scriptures the things concerning 
Christ, the servant of the Lord, suffering and vic- 
torious, and showed that it was God's decree of 
salvation that the Eedeemer should suffer what 
sin inflicted on Him, and enter into the glory of 
His saving might. The same appeal could be 
made to proselytes, who might be moving, per- 
plexed yet fascinated, in that realm of great re- 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 49 

demptive ideas, all of whicli received their em- 
bodiment and tlieir living power in this Jesus. 
The heart even of the heathen world, where it was 
not glazed over by conceit of knowledge, or shriv- 
elled by sheer frivolity, retsponded to the' preach- 
ing of the fact of sin and judgment, matched and 
overcome by the redeeming facts of the Cross and 
the Eesurrection. To Jew and Gentile, to the 
sinner as such, the salvation was preached ; from 
its depth in a forgiveness mighty enough to 
cleanse utmost guilt and restore the farthest wan- 
derer, tO' itiS height in the life of sonship toward 
God and union with the living Christ Himself, to>- 
gether with its power to cope with every sin, 
which had held souls in bondage, and still af- 
frighted them with va,unt of victory. The New 
Testament evangelists had gauged the situation, 
and they gloried in the Cross as a complete tri- 
umph of redeeming grace. They display no mis- 
giving, no fear of insufficiency. This note of un^ 
hesitating confidence in their meissage and in Him 
who is the heart's core of that message, is char- 
acteristic of all their work. In this confidence 
alone could that work have been accomplished. 
These two marks— fulness of statement, and tri- 
umphant certainty— identify all evangelism that 
is true to^ its archetype. They can be reproduced 
only when the Church is living in immediate con- 
tact with spiritual realities, and under constant 
constraint of the love of Christ. Hence it is that 
evangelism can not be taken up, as it were, in cold 
4 



50 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

blood, or with some worldly idea of denomina- 
tional advantage; as who should say in Presby- 
tery or Conference, ^ ^ Go to, let us have a Eevival, 
let us engineer a Campaign. ' ' Evangelism is pos- 
sible only in a living Church, loyal to its vocation 
and to its Head. A Church, which has reduced 
its conception of salvation to a caput mortuum of 
moral commonplaces, and holds with nerveless 
fingers a few fragments of natural theology, will 
never evangelize the masses, or form an effective 
instrument in national revival. 

(d) The demonstration of achievementi. Ob- 
jective statements, however full and passionate, 
would lose all their efficacy unless it were possible 
to point to their subjective appreciation and their 
experimental proof. 

Again and again we find the preaching clinched 
by evidence. ' ' This which ye see and hear, ' ' Acts 
2 : 33 ; ^ ^ In Him doth this man stand here before 
you whole,'' Acts 4: 10; ^'and such were some of 
you, but," 1 Cor. 6:11; people to whom such 
things were said had the best of all reasons for 
accepting a salvation thus countersigned by a pal- 
pable fact. ^^One thing I know"— ^^ He loved 
me"— ^'Sinners of whom I am chief:" prea,chers, 
whose message was thus a transcript of their expe- 
rience, might be very learned or wholly unlettered, 
but they had a secret of power, incommunicable 
save by the Spirit of God. It is possible to vul- 
garize any method, and to institute a * testimony 
meeting, ' ' which shall be an orgy of exaggeration 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 51 

and Tinreality. Yet we have tlie warrant of New 
Testament practice for laying strong emphasis on 
the actual triumphs of the Cross in saving sin- 
ners, as a magnificent exposition and demonstra- 
tion of the truth of the Gospel. It is, in like man- 
ner, possible that ai preacher should inflict his 
personality offensively on his audience ; but it re- 
mains true that the reality of his experience will 
be the mea,sure of his power ; and, sometimes, on 
occasions of special exercise of soul, he may lift 
the veil, which self-respect draws over the sancti- 
ties of life, and tell what God has wrought in him. 

(e) The appeal. The addresses reported in 
the New Testament can not be forced into rules 
of rhetoric. The ^^few words in closing," the 
^ ' now a word to the unconverted, ' ' which are not 
unknown in modern preaching, are blessedly ab- 
sent. At the same time, these speeches are tre- 
mendously personal. There is an insistent ^^ye- 
ye'' running through them all. Never does the 
speaker miss his mark. He always '^gets there." 
We are not, indeed, bound by the mere style of 
New Testament preachers; but we shall be more 
than foolish if we miss their spirit. Salvation is 
an act which takes effect in the will of men. The 
Saviour is a Person, unknown and uninfluential, 
unless He receive personal homage in an act of 
trust. 

Upon this, therefore, the evangelism of the 
New Testament bends its whole Spirit-quickened 
energy to win from men the acknowledgment of 



52 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the Crucified as Lord. Of the experiences in 
which that acknowledgment was made we shall 
speak later. Meantime we observe that evangel- 
ism can never be genuine without this appeal. 
Not other than this; such as insistence upon a cer- 
tain stereotyped response. Not less than this; 
such as satisfaction with some vague assent, or 
intellectual approval, or sesthetic admiration. 
But this— the demand for definite and full sur- 
render to Christ as Eedeemer and Lord. 

(2) It is defensive. New Testament evangel- 
ism had not an open field before it. The ground 
was occupied by a multitude of faiths, competing 
with one another for the allegiance of men. In one 
respect all these religions, together with Chris- 
tianity itself, had one common feature. They all 
claimed to provide ^ ^ salvation, ' ' a, spiritual life, 
and a communion with the Divine, which the for- 
malities of a State religion, like that of Eome, 
could not afford. The work of the evangelist, in 
this aspect of it, accordingly, was simple and 
direct. The point of superiority, which he had to 
make good, was that the Gospel was, what no myth 
of Isis or Mithras could be, the power of God unto 
salvation. He was not bound to produce a philos- 
ophy, a;s completely elaborated as that of the 
Greeks, dealing finally with all the questions which 
an acute and subtle miud might ask regarding 
God and the world. His claim was that Jesus, 
the risen Lord, was a Saviour mightier than any 
force that could be named, whether *^ angels,'* 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 53 

'^principalities,'* or *^ powers.'' TMs was the 
point at issue; and here New Testament evangel- 
ism became militant, aggressive, controversial. 
We see, accordingly, that evangelism carried on 
under the conditions existent in the first century — 
which in reality are not remote from those of the 
twentieth— could not be an intellectually feeble 
thing. The evangelist had to defend himself 
against scornful rivals, to justify the claims he 
made on behalf of the Gospel, and even to carry 
the war into the enemy's camp, and expose the 
weakness of his rivals' position. There is an 
*' apologetic of the New Testament" implying 
strenuous intellectual effort, and a firm grasp of 
the constitutive principles of Christianity. The 
New Testament has, indeed, no use for the pedant; 
but it nowhere approves the ignoramus, who pre- 
tends that the gift of the Spirit sets him beyond 
the need of conscientious study. The New Testa- 
ment evangelists were splendidly trained. They 
did not congregate at some '^seat of learning"— 
ominous phrase! They gathered round a living 
teacher, and kept company with him in his think- 
ing and his working. Can we conceive of finer 
training for the work of the ministry than the 
young companions of the Apostle Paul received? 
Was not theirs the privilege of attending a *^ di- 
vinity school, ' ' in which there was not lacking the 
learning of the Eabbis, and the culture of the 
Greeks, while there was present the guidance and 
stimulus of a high intelligence, a quick penetra- 



54 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tive mind, a soaring and comprehensive reason, 
all governed and transfigured by the power of the 
Spirit of God? Let not the modern Chnrch in 
any revival of interest in evangelism which it may 
please God to send, ignore the need, in view of 
present day conditions, of thorough intellectnal, 
as well as spiritual, preparation on the part of 
its evangelists. And let not the modem Divinity 
School, in its zeal for scholarship, forget that its 
only right to exist in a Christian Church, and its 
only claim upon the sympathy and support of 
Christian people, lie in its affording an effective 
training for that practical work, of which evangel- 
ism is the crowning glory. 

The details of this *^ apologetic of the New 
Testament'' must be sought in such works as that 
of Professor Scott of Queen's University, which 
bears this title. The direction in which it moved 
was determined by the great forces which met the 
Gospel with uncompromising opposition. 

(a) Against Judaism: In this case the argu- 
ment was derived from Old Testament prophecy, 
fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ: while criticism was 
directed upon the legal and ceremonial system as 
an intolerable burden, as hopelessly ineffective 
for a spiritual salvation, and as misrepresenting 
the grace of God in its present free and mighty 
working. 

(b) Against Polytheism: Here the mission- 
aries are careful to avoid irritating the suscepti- 
bilities of the hearers, while yet they advance rea- 



DELIVEBY OF THE MESSAGE 55 

sons for the superioDrity of tlieir theistic position. 
They appeal to Nature, as a witness to the power 
and goodness of God; to Conscience, as a native 
constituent of the heart, which responds to reason- 
ing regarding righteousness, temperance, and 
judgment to come; and to the Eeligious Need of 
man, in its entire hopelessness, apart from the 
God revealed in Christ. With all their desire to 
conciliate, they are also' fearless in their criticism 
of idolatry, as being marked by utter futility as 
well as by the deep guilt of apostasy from the liv- 
ing God. It is noticeable that whether they argue 
or criticise, they never cease to^ occupy the same 
ground with those whom they hope to win, and 
confess themselves to be as much without merit of 
their own and as much in need of saving help, as 
the least privileged Gentile. 

(c) Against Gnosticism and kindred systems. 
Amid the conflict of religions in that first century 
of our era, nothing was felt to be so deadly a foe, 
as a system, which was willing to' absorb Chris- 
tianity, and give Jesus a place of honor in its 
apparatus of salvation, without really recognizing 
either His perfect humanity or His true divinity. 
The victory of Christianity iS) bound up with the 
fact that **He is Lord of all." On this cardinal 
element in the faith there could be no concession 
and no compromise. Jesus saves, through faith in 
Him; this, verified in experience, interpreted 
through His Divine Sonship, is the central truth 
of Christianity. Eedeemer and King, He stands 



56 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

alone. None can take His places TMs contention 
of tJie Christian preachers was well understood 
by their opponents ; and some at least were bold 
enough to propose an actual competitor for the 
place of Saviour, in the person of such an one 
as ApoUonius of Tyana. In the contrast between 
Apollonius and Jesus Christ, the uniqueness and 
the strength of Christianity stand unveiled. The 
world needed a Saviour, and the Risen Christ was 
daily proved, by the actual redemption of men, 
to be the only One who was in fact mighty to save. 

Again, in the history of the race, there is a 
conflict of religions. Once more, the point at is- 
sue is competence to save. Who can free from 
sin, its guilt, power, dominion, misery? Who can 
rescue man from destruction, re-create him ac- 
cording to his divine ideal, reconstitute human so- 
ciety, and establish the Kingdom of God in the 
earth? Once more, the claim of Christianity 
stands over against all competitors, and declares 
that Jesus Christ, He alonci. He absolutely, does 
save. Evangelism, resting on the experience of 
redemption, is the Church's first duty, the 
Church's greatest apologetic. 

(3) It is constructive. It included teaching as 
well as preaching. These two functions are com- 
bined in the summary account, given in Matt. 
4 : 23, of the ministry of Jesus. He announces a 
Kingdom, of which He Himself is Hea,d and Legis- 
lator; and thus He reveals what He conveys. 

The same combination is found in the work of 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 57 

these wliom He commissioned to be the evangel- 
ists of the world, Matt. 28: 19, 20. The relation 
of these two elements in a complete evangelism 
is not hard to discern. On the one hand, teaching 
is necessarily implied in all preiaching. It is im- 
possible to preach repentance and remission of 
sins in the name of Jesns, without communicating 
the facts of His passion and resurrection, and ex- 
hibiting these, in the light of scripture, as the 
media of G-od's saving love to men, Luke 24 : 45-48. 
Jesus could not be preached as Messiah, save 
through an interpretation of Meissiahship, in 
agreement with His own conception of it, and 
grounded on the life and work in which He veri- 
fied His own claim to be the Christ of God. Such 
teaching is saved from the sterility of mere intel- 
lectualism, by its being directed to, and apprehen- 
sible by, the spiritual nature of man, with its real 
and deep, though uninstructed sense of its own 
need and God's sufficiency. No man can be saved 
by teaching, in the sense of clear logical presenta- 
tion of ideas. No man can be saved without teach- 
ing, in the sense of the statement and interpreta- 
tion of the Divine saving acts, in which God brings 
His reconciling love to the apprehension of men. 
Me ought carefully to> observe that the evangelism 
of the New Testament is no thia, emotional 
thing, but is an exposition of Divine truth, rich in 
experience, and profound in reflection. 

On the other hand, preaching can be effective, 
only when it is followed by teaching. Proof of 



58 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

this lies in the fact of the New Testament as a 
whole. The writings which we thus designate 
were produced by evangelists in pursuance of 
their calling. They represent the kind of work 
these men found it necessary to do for the com- 
munities of believers which they had been instru- 
mental in founding. Their apostolic and mission- 
ary labor is not complete in mere announcement. 
It must be continued in the application of the prin- 
ciples, implied in the Gospel, to diverse phases 
of the Christian life, both individual and social. 
'*By word or by epistle" (2 Thess. 2:18) they 
taught their converts the meaning of Christianity. 
Not till they were persuaded that that meaning 
had been grasped in its fundamental principles, 
and could be applied by the enlightened con- 
sciences of the converts, did they believe that their 
work as evangelists and soul- winners was in any 
degree adequately performed. 

The importance of teaching as the crown of 
evangelism is also indicated by the fact that in 
what Dr. Lindsay calls ^^the prophetic ministry," 
teachers, (SiSao-KaAot) hold the third place, 1 Cor. 
12 : 28. These men have received from the Spirit 
the ' ^ gift" of knowledge. Presupposing the work 
of the aposfcle or evangelist, and resting on the 
whole revelation of God in Christ, they proceed 
by patient reiteration to exhibit the Gospel in its 
manifold bearing upon the problems of the ethical 
and religious life. They did this work both in 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 59 

tlie public meeting, (1 Cor. 14: 26) and in tlie oate- 
chnmen's class (Gal. 6:6). 

The practioal point for tliet modern Churcli is 
that its evangelism (i) must be combined with 
teaching; (ii) must be followed up by teaching. 
Evangelism is not galvanism. It is the work of 
laying the foundation of the Christian life deep 
in the finest faculties of human nature, mind, con- 
science, and will. 

Evangelism of the New Testament type is the 
strength of the Church, and is the creator of all 
great and worthy civilization. 

3. Features of the preaching. How shall we 
preach the Gospel? What qualities ought to be- 
long to our delivery of the message of salvation! 
There are no lectures to which students come 
more hopefully than to those on Homiletics ; none 
from which they return in greater bitterness! 
The reason is plain. No man can tell another how 
to preach. There is no demand more ridiculous 
than that which is often made upon Divinity 
Schools that they '^should turn out'' preachers. 
A preacher who would be ^^ turned out'' would 
not be worth listening to. The New Testament is 
not a text-book on Homiletics ; but it depicts the 
preaching of the Gospel and it gives living presen- 
tations of the preachers who carried the Good 
News from Jerusalem to Eome. It provides no 
rules, and binds none upon preachers of succeed- 
ing generations. We can not, therefore, in any 



60 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

analytical way, pick out qualities which belonged 
to New Testament preaching and seek to transfer 
them to our evangelism. In Christian service^ 
there can be no mechanical repetition. Efficiency 
depends on the principle of individuality, purified 
and intensified by share in a great ministry, and 
by the influence of a great dynamic. Paul, and 
Peter, James, and John, Philip, Barnabas, Apol- 
los, Silas, John Mark, Timothy, Luke; each is 
himself; and each puts himself into his evangel- 
ism; each receives the gift of the Spirit in har- 
mony with his individual capacity. Precisely in 
this element of individuality lies the charm and 
helpfulness of the New Testament as a guide to 
preachers. It has no direct instruction in the art 
and manner of preaching. But its incidental 
references, and its vivid portraiture, convey to 
our minds features which must belong to all pow- 
erful presentation of the Gospel. 

The terms employed to designate the act of 
preaching are in themselves suggestive. They are 
such as these: 

emyyeAi^o). Announcing glad tidings; how 
should this be done! With what joy and eager- 
ness, what love and sympathy! 

KYjpvaaoi, Proclaiming a> fact or truth, with the 
implied metaphor of heralding a king. Compare 
the metaphor implied in Tr/oeo-^evw, 2 Cor. 5 : 20, 
Ephes. 6 : 20. How should such functions be ecxer- 
cised! With what, authority, dignity, solemnity, 
fervour, definiteness, and finality! 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 61 

KarayyeAAo). Empliasis, as 111 Latin praedicare^ 
on openneiss, pnblicitiy, witii the ideia of cele- 
brating, commending, witnessing, 1 Cor. 11 : 26. 

StayyeAAw. Annonnce everywhere, carry the 
message to every creature, Lk. 9 : 60. 

irX-qpoo). The idea conveyed is that of the com- 
plet.eneiss> and thoroughness with which the work 
is to be done, Eom. 15 : 19, Col. 1 : 25. No' shallow 
Gospel, but such a full statement a,s shall cause 
the Word of God toi be fully acknowledged in its 
piercing appeal and it.s comprehensive scope.. 

irapp-qma^ofxai. Emphasis ou confidcuce and 
courage;. Acts 9:27, 18:26, 26:26. 

If these are the qualities of New Testament 
evangelism, dullness., indifference, coldness, cow- 
ardice^ unfaithfulness, gloom, hesitation, slack- 
ness, partiality are absolutely forbidden. The 
New Testament requires of the evangelist a full 
Gospel, fully preached ! 

Larger guidance and more definite stimulus 
come from the examples of preaching contained in 
the New Testament. It may, indeed, be urged 
that these are so high that they are beyond our 
reach and afford us no guidance. Such an objec- 
tion, even in respect to our Lord's preaching, neg- 
lects the consideration that between us and these 
great examples there is, as far as delivery of the 
message is concerned, identity of function and 
continuity of power. 

In the preaching of Jesus, there are certain, 
outstanding features which have thus been sum- 



62 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

marized by Principal Adeney in Ms article on 
preacliing in H D B:—^^(i). His fresliness and 
originality {Maxn Kam), 1:27;) (ii). His tone 
of anthority (w? e^owtav e'xw, Mk. 1:22:) His win- 
ning grace, a point daaracteiristically noted by 

tbe tbird evangelist (eOavfxa^ov eVt roh Aoyots T^s 

xa/otros, Lk. 4:22:) (iv). His grapbic pictnresque^ 
ness in illustration (Mk. 4:33)/' 

Our Lord is inimitable! Unattainable in His 
degree, certainly. Yet He remains tbe type and 
norm of all Grospel preacbers ; and to His example 
His spirit will conform tbose wbo go His errands.' 
Surely an ambassador will bear in bis very style 
tbe stamp of tbe King be represents. 

Tbe Apostle Paul is also far beyond us; and 
yet bis evangelism must guide and inspire ours. 
In it we observe sucb points as tbese : 

First. Tbe evangelist's state of mind and 
1 beart as be appro acbes bis work: (i) constrained 

\ by tbe love of Cbrist, and tberefore an ambassa- 

dor for Him, 2 Cor. 5: 14-20; (ii) under a strong 
compulsion, as one wbo bas no freedom in tbe 
matter, 1 Cor. 9 : 16 ; (iii) witb a great compassion 
for mankind, as knowing tbe need of sinners, Acts 
20:19, 31, 2 Cor. 2:4; (iv) sometimes, even, bot 
witb rigbteous indignation, observing tbe foolisb- 
ness and blaspbemies of men. Acts 17 : 16. 

Second, Tbe processes by wbicb tbe evangel- 
ist sougbt acceptance for bis message: (i) reason- 
ing, clearing tbe ground, obtaining consideration 
for bis subject, Acts 19:8, 9; (ii) persuading, 



DELIVEEY OF THE MESSAGE 63 

leading the mind on to tlie conclusionst necessitated 
by right reason, and urgently required in view of 
man's- destiny, 2 Cor. 5:11; (iii) beseeching, 
pleading for a decision in favoir of Christ, and in 
the interest of the hearer's own welfare, as an ad- 
vocate might plead with a jury, or as an ambas- 
sador might implore the court to which he was 
commissioned, as one whose interests are those 
both of the King whom he represents;, and of the 
state or nation whoise very existence is- at stake, 
2 Cor. 5:20; (iv) commending, setting forth the 
Gospel with such corroboration in his own life, 
character, and action, as shall win approbation, 
and lead to acceptance, 2 Cor. 6 : 1-10, 1 Cor. 
4 : 9-13, 2 Cor. 4 : 8-11, 11 : 23-33. The self-revela- 
tion of the Apostle Paul, in his capacity a.^. evan- 
gelist, constitutes an overwhelming rebuke of the 
modem preadier, who yields to the; char?, jteris tic 
temptations of his calling, depression o"^ spirits 
(accidie, tristitia), anger and contempt ior hear- 
ers so dull and unresponsive, impatience ■ vith man 
and with God, mistrust of the good w^ll of the 
Master. 

Third, The evangelist's consciousness in the 
discharge of his task: (i) sympathy, the power of 
entering into the position of those with whom he 
deals, understanding their point of view, though 
it be not his, and doing justice to whatever truth 
it possesses; the capacity of adaptation to the 
typeis, circumstances, moods, dispositions, and 
idiosyncrasies of those whom he is endeavoring 



64 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

to win, 1 Cot. 9:19-22; (ii) authority, not of 
course despotio or tyrannical (2 Cor. 1:24), bnt 
none the less real and supreme, being nothing less 
than the delegated authority of the Lord Himself 
(2 Cor. 10:8), a dignity which belongs to the 
evangelist as such, and is to be announced and 
even insisted on and defended (1 Cor. 16 : 11, 
1 Tim. 4:12, Titus 2:15), a power which, if re- 
sisted, must react in judgment upon those who 
reject: not man, but God, Acts 28: 26-28; (iii) joy, 
the gladness of bringing glad tidings, of seeing 
souls, in bondage rise through the grace of the 
Gospe^ into liberty and strength, Acts 20 : 24, Phil. 
4:1, 1 Thess. 2 : 20'. 

Evangelism in the New Testament is depicted 
in a series of antithetic aspects, whose synthesis 
is to be found in the actual discharge of duty, as 
the hardest and most sorrowful, the most honor- 
able and^ the most joyous task tO' which any man 
could be called, a life-work, so satisfying and so 
splendid V rewarded, as to be coveted beyond any 
vocation ypen to the sons of men. 

Not unworthily does one who stands in the 
main line of the evangelical succession depict the 
person and office of the evangelist. ^^Then said 
the inter'preter. Come in; I will shew thee that 
which will be profitable to thee. So he com- 
manded his man to light the candle, and bid Chris- 
tian follow him. So he had him into a private 
room, and bid his man open a door; the which 
when he had done, Christian saw the picture of a 



DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE 65 

very grave person hang up against the wall ; and 
this was the fa,shion of it: it ha,d eyes lifted np 
to heaven, the best of books in its hand; the law 
of trnth was written npon its lips ; the' world was 
behind its back ; it stood as if it pleaded with men ; 
and a crown of gold did hang over its head." 



CHAPTEE III 

THE EECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE 

The task committed to tJie evangelist is procla- 
matiooa of the message. He is not charged witli 
tJie intolerable responsibility of evoking tlie due 
response in the hearts of his hearers. Yet the 
message is proclaimied only that there may be 
evoked the response, which shall correspond to its 
significance and aim. 

For this response, accordingly, the evangelist 
waits with expectation and desire^ labouring to 
gain it for the message, often with self-reproach 
that his delivery of the message should hinder its 
reception, sometimes with a, very agony of spirit, 
till he sees the souls he yearns over answer in a 
definite experience to the call of the Cross. In 
what spiritual experience, accordingly, is the mes^ 
sage eiffectively received, and the work of evangel- 
ism completed? 

Four terms occur in the New Testament which 
designate the same experience in its totality, while 
they present it in different aspects and from dif- 
ferent points of view. 

I. Faith, The message is concerned, as we 



EECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE 67 

have seen, with the saving activity of God, and 
with this a,s consummated and made a victorious 
power in Christ, the living Lord. The message, 
accordingly, is more than a discourse concerning 
Christ. It is an actual presentation of Christ, 
a definite offer of Christ ; and Christ, with all His 
saving power, is present by His. Spirit in the 
"Word, which preaches Him. The due response 
to the message, therefoire, can not. be^ merely 
an intellectual assent to the propositions it con- 
tains regarding Christ, even when these are a,c- 
companied by sBsthetic admiration, or emotional 
delight. It must consist in a hearty consent to 
the claims made on behalf of Christ, which in- 
deed He makes for Himself— an owning of 
Christ, in an individual act of homage*, as su- 
preme in the whole realm of human life; a per- 
sonal acceptance of Him as Saviour and Lord; a 
trustful commitment of the soul to Him, a,& the 
One who alone can redeem from the guilt and 
power of sin, with all its. penalties; a definite 
choice of Christ., as the highest good and satisf a,c- 
tion of man, as He is also^ the perfect, revelation 
of God. The usage of Scripture, confirmed by 
Christian experience, warrants us in giving this 
religious, soteriological significance tio faith. In 
it God reaches man, and oiccupies him wholly; 
and man reaches God, committing himself abso- 
lutely toi the love crowned on Calvary. 

The experience is wholly personal. Faith is 
directed, not to a scheme or apparatus of salva- 



68 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tion, but to the personal Eedeemer, who is the 
source of all saving benefits, and is in Himself 
their sum and substance. Such a spiritual act is 
the demand of evangelism. Even in His earthly 
ministry, Jesus sought to> bring men to* what was 
essentially a religious attitude of trust toward 
Himself; and the uplifted Christ draws all men 
to Him in worship and surrender of spirit. 

The apostles of the Lord have many and va- 
ried descriptions of religious experience ; but they 
unite in teaehing that the object of faith is Christ, 
and that the act of faith is personal commitment 
to Him. This experience, identical among all 
Christians, is the differentia of Christianity, not 
from the religion of the Old Testament, for it too 
was a religion of grace and of faith, but from 
legalism in one extreme, and Neoplatonic mysti- 
cism in the other. Faith, in the New Te'St,ament 
sense, saves, not because it does anything, not be- 
cause of the moral quality it possesses as an act of 
obedience, not even because it is directed to Christ, 
but because it is the condition under which Christ 
can do His saving work. In the act^ in which the 
soul, discerning the sufficiency of Christ, commits 
itself to Him, Christ lays hold of it, delivers it, 
brings it to God, and saves it by Divine redemptive 
energy. The indispensableness of faith is a. com- 
monplace of New Testament evangelism. The 
evangelist, like his Lord, is powerless, where it is 
absent,, and he rejoices with exceeding gladniess, 
when he notes its presence, often most conspicu- 



BECEPTION OF THE MESSAaE 69 

OTIS in the least likely quarteirs. WMle, therefore, 
the evangelist can not create faith, he labors for 
it, prays for it, waits for it, as the triumphant 
issue of what God is doing through his instru- 
mentality. 

The New Testament knows no means, of pro- 
ducing faith, save ^^ preaching Christ." Preach 
Christ in the significance and value He has in the 
New Testament. Make Him manifest in the com- 
pleteness of His salvation, the glory of His Per- 
son, and the supremacy of His Place and Power. 

The New Testament prescribes nothing else 
than such a witness to the sufficiency and the sov- 
ereignty of Christ. But it does prescribe this. It 
knows no other means to the end. The modem 
Church can not refuse the testing question : What 
is the outcome of its preaching, and its many ac- 
tivities? Is it faith in Christ! If not, it has 
failed of the vocation which ha,s called it into 
being. 

II. Repentance, As the Message is^ concerned 
with salvation, it is also at the same time con- 
cerned with the sin of man. It has much to> say, 
therefore, regarding sin and sinners; Grod'si atti- 
tude to sin; His demand for holiness; His love 
for sinners; His determination to do all that in 
Him lies to save men from their sins ; His deed in 
Christ; the mystery of sin-bearing; the victory 
of the Eeisurrection; the promise to all who will 
receive Christ, that God will carry out toward 
them the purpose of His love, in redeeming them, 



70 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

and bringing' tliem into the Kingdom, and reign- 
ing over them in sovereign grace and goodness. 

The response to this message, accordingly, is 
much concemed with the fact of sin: the specific 
acts in which the holy will of God has been vio- 
lated, the attitude of rebellion and unbelief of 
which these acts are the outcome, the guilt and 
shame, pollution and bondage into which, as the 
result of this revolt, the soul has been plunged. 
The experience, in which the message thus finds 
its proper issue, will include penitential sorrow, 
and may manifest itself in very deep emotion. 
It will, however, consist essentially in (leTdvoia, 
which is fundamentally an act of will, involving 
a change of personal attitude toward God, from 
rebellion to trustful surrender, from the dominion 
of self to the rule of His righteous will, and imply- 
ing a quest, not merely for relief from the terrible 
consequences of sin, but for deliverance from sin 
itself as that which separates man from God. The 
penitent soul requires notching else, and nothing 
less, than the forgiveness of sin, that amazing 
gift of grace which includes as its first and least 
element, **no condemnation," and rises to its last 
and greatest, ^^no separation." The act thus de- 
scribed is, plainly, the same as that designated 
faith, the difference being that faith has refer- 
ence to the terminus ad quern, repentance to the 
terminus a quo. Each includes the other. They 
may, therefore, be used separately, without any 
contrast between them, for the whole condition 



EECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE 71 

of salvatioii. Thus, in Acts 2 : 38, 3 : 19, 5 : 31, Re- 
pentance is mentioned, and not faith, though, of 
course, faith is implied in the act required. So, 
in John 3 : 15, 16, 36, faith is required, and no 
mention is made of Repentance, though it is ob- 
viously implied as an element in the total expe- 
rience. 

Our Lord ha;s depicted, once for all, the natural 
necessity of repentance, in His deathless parable 
of the Lost Son. Three elements are involved in 
it: (i) The discovery of need; ^^he came to him- 
self . . . I perish with hunger;^' (ii) The act 
of separation from evil, and the approach to God ; 
*^he arose, and came to his father;" (iii) The 
confession of sin, as an act, and in its spiritual re^ 
suit, *^I have sinned, and am no more worthy to 
be called thy son." 

Eepentance is, on man's part, the only condi- 
tion of forgiveness. All else belongs to God, the 
patient striving, the almighty working, the sacri- 
ficial suif ering ; and now the free gift, not merely 
remission of penalty, but the ring, and the robe, 
and the banquet, and, most precious of all, the 
name ^* my son," and the enfolding of the ever- 
lasting arms. 

It is the only condition, on man's part; but it 
is one absolutely indispensable. Unless there be 
this response to the message, the work of the 
evangelist is fruitless. Whether it be Peter 
preaching to self-righteous Jews, or Paul to po- 
lite and self-satisfied Athenians, the New Testa- 



72 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ment evangelist insists on this rugged road to 
eternal life. *^And few tliere be thjat find it/' 
An acceptance of Christ, that did not include ret- 
pentance, would add judgment, rather than secure 
blessing. All true evangelism rings with the sum- 
mons to repentance. The Gospel is not rosewater. 
It is water with ashes in it. 

As with faith, so with repentance, the New 
Testament has only one method of producing it, 
viz.: preaching Christ, Whatever aspect of 
Christ's person and work be the theme of the 
preaching, it has its appropriate issue in the deep- 
ening of penitence. If He is preached as Saviour, 
and emphasis is laid on His love. His Cross, His 
power. His welcome, how shameful, over against 
all these, does Sin appear ! If He is preached as 
Judge, and life is estimated by the attitude of 
mind and conscience to Him who is incarnate 
Truth and Eight, here is *Hhe terror of the Lord,'' 
* ' the wrath of the Lamb, ' ' the awful imminence of 
judgment. In the radiance of infinite Love, and 
in the shadow of inevitable doom, the New Testa- 
ment evangelist fulfils his mission, and calls, in 
God's name, upon all men everywhere to repent. 

III. Regeneration. The message announces 
that a New Thing has come toi pass in the earth. 
In Christ there has been created a new world. In 
Him are resident powers of redemption, which 
are adequate to cope with the worst powers of 
evil. There has opened for the individual and 
for humanity a new life of strength and victory. 



EECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE 73 

The experience of believers in Clirist is penetrated 
by this sense of newness, not less solemn than 
exultant. 

The diiference betiween what they were and 
what they are, between the heavy bondage nnder 
which they lay, and the new energies of faith and 
hope and love with which they are thrilled, is too 
wide for language to express with logical pre- 
cision. Our Lord and His apostles use various 
figures to suggest the magnitude of the change 
wrought in believers, the exceeding breadth of the 
contrast between the old state and the new: be- 
coming alive, after having died, Lk. 15 : 24 ; becom- 
ing as a little child, Matt. 18:3; losing life and 
saving it, Matt. 16 : 24-26 ; becoming a new crea,- 
ture, 2 Cor. 5 : 17 ; being transformed, Eom. 12 : 2 ; 
being renewed, 2 Cor. 4 : 16 ; being translated from 
one condition of being to another. Col. 1 : 13 ; dying 
with Christ, and being raised with Him, Eom. 6 : 6, 
Col. 3 : 1-3 ; being born again, John 3 : 3, 5. 

All these figures present the deep reality in 
one aspect or another. They unite in teaching 
that to reeeive Christ is to begin a new life, and 
that of this new life God is the ^^fontal sourcei." 
There is, of course, moral continuity in all human 
experience. But in the believer there ha,s been 
wrought a vast religious and dynamic change. 
The personality grows from a new root. The life 
organizes itself round a new centre. The activi- 
ties obey the direction of a new will, and are quick- 
ened by a new energy. This new life is the life of 



74 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

God in man, and it is dependent for its presence 
and power on personal relation to the living Lord. 
In these three terms, accordingly, faith, repent- 
ance, regeneration, the same experience is desig- 
nated, viz., that movement of the soul from sin to 
God, in which salvation takes effect. ** Faith" 
points to its goal, the personal Eedeemer; ^^Re- 
pentance," to the sin which is, in principle, for- 
saken; while ^^Regeneration" touches on the mys- 
tery which human speech can never reduce to 
abstract terms, the power of the Divine Spirit 
exerted in and upon the human, persuading and 
enabling man to make the great transition, from 
sin, which is death, to Christ, who is our life. It 
is important, when we consider the mischief 
wrought by over-driving a metaphor, to bring to- 
gether the various figures used in the New Testar- 
ment to express this third aspect of the experi- 
ence. It is possible to work out the figure of the 
new birth in so prosaic a manner, and with such 
mechanical and almost physical applications, as 
to obscure the great truth intended by it. The 
figure of the new birth, and the term ' ' regenera- 
tion, ' ' which is framed from the figure, must never 
be divorced from the activities of faith and re- 
pentance, in which the action of the Spirit of God 
manifests itself. "We must seek in our evangelism 
to be as broad and simple as the New Testament, 
while not forgetting its depth and solemnity. The 
Gospel demand is for a moral change, a change 
so great that it can be effected only by the power 



EECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE 75 

of God. All who have obeyed the summons, bear 
witness to both aspects of this truth of salvation. 
To produce this change, the Gospel is preached. 
Where it is not being produced, the Church, as 
a moral fellowship of man with God, is sinking 
to death. It is impossible to deny that what New 
Testament evangelism aims at is not culture, but 
regeneration. The preaching, which aims at im- 
proving what man is by nature, without consider- 
ing man's need of moral and spiritual reconsti- 
tution, and the dynamic which in the Gospel meets 
that need, may be keen in its analysis and high in 
its conceptions of virtue, but it proceeds on other 
principles than those set forth in the New Testa- 
ment. Its appeal is not tha,t of the apostolic evan- 
gelists. The whole history of the Church is proof 
that it utterly fails in redemptive, uplifting force. 
To produce this change, nothing but the Gospel 
is adequate, or is wanted. Preach Jesus Christ, 
in whom are incarnated all Divine energies for 
deliverance from sin, and transformation into the 
Divine likeness. To receive Him is to be regener- 
ated. To open the heart to Him, so that He shall 
be regnant there, is to pass through the sa,ving 
change, to pass from death to life, to be born 
again, to become the man we were meant to be. 
No minister of the Word can refuse this test of 
his own soul : Is he laboring for this change in 
the hearts of his heiareirs! Is he yearning over 
the souls committed to his care, that they may 
enter into life? What is the aim hie has before 



76 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

him? What is the fruit of his toil? Surely these 
questions will come to him with rebuke and stim- 
ulus, and send him, with new consecration, to 
preach Christ, who can make all things new. 

IV. Conversion. The message is addressed 
to men in a certain moral condition, with their 
wills determined in a particular direction, and 
their lives shaped toward a definite moral issue. 
All its revelations and announcements are meant 
to act upon the will, to* arouse the man to take a 
decisive action. What this action must be, which 
alone is the due response to the Gospel, can not 
be doubtful. It is the determining of the will God- 
ward, turning of the whole course of life away 
from its goal in self to its new goal in Christ. 
^'Except ye turn" is the preface to the broadest 
and freest offer of salvation. Into this act of turn- 
ing, the whole subjective condition of salvation 
is condensed. Faith, repentance, regeneration, 
conversion, are various designations of the one 
mysterious, yet absolutely simple experience, in 
which the mercy of God comes to victorious result 
in the salvation of a soul. To persuade men to 
turn to God is the one business of evangelism. In 
fulfilling this function, evangelism leans wholly 
upon Divine power. It is not perplexed, as philos- 
ophy and theology are, by the intellectual puzzle 
of how an act can be performed only by the power 
of God, and yet be the act of man, which he is 
summoned to perform, and for the non-perform- 
ance of which he is responsible. It rings in the 



EECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE 77 

ears of sinners tlie call, * * Turn ye, Turn ye, ' ' con^ 
fident that tJiere goeis witii tbe sinnmons a Divine 
energy, whicJi will enable men to do what of them- 
selves they could not do. It is not to be deceived 
by psychological phenomena, which may, or may 
not, accompany the decisive act in the great his- 
tory of a souPs salvation. It keeps steadily to 
the point, the turning of the soul to Grod, and in- 
sists on that, the act of the will, i. e., of the man 
himself, as he is confronted by the invitations and 
the claims of the Grospel. 

The term ^'conversion,'' as ordinarily em- 
ployed and as sometimesi discussed in textrbooks 
of psychology, seems to mean a; congeries of 
states. In point of fact, action, the culminating 
point in God's dealing with a soul, is the true Bib- 
lical idea of conversion. The Biblical history of 
salvation incidentally contains many cases of con- 
version. The variety of the circumstances, and 
the peculiarity of the soul's discipline among the 
different cases, are deeply instructive. But in 
them all, there is agreement as to the essential ele- 
ments in sound conversion: (i) The producing 
cause is the Word, which preaches Christ; (ii) 
The act demanded in the Gospel is the turning of 
the man, in a decisive determination of his will, 
toward the God who has come to him in Christ; 
(iii) The issue is the new life, lived under the con- 
trol of Christ, and by the energy of His Spirit. 

In the experience, whose leading designations 
we have been considering. New Testament evan- 



78 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

gelism finds itself justified and satisfied. To be 
used by God in the process, whereby he lays hold 
upon men and saves them, is the ambition of the 
New Testament evangelist. Laboring at a task, 
whose aim is the glory of the Red.eem.er, he waits 
the day when he shall gain his crown and lay it 
at his Saviour's feet. 



CHAPTEE IV 

SUMMAKY AND SUGGESTION'S 

As WE study tide subject of evangelism as it is pre- 
sented in the New Testament, certain thoughts 
suggest themselves, which may be helpful when we 
come to the topic of evangelism in the modem 
Church. They are such as these : 

I. The meaning of Evangelism. It is to be 
feared that the term has, in the minds of many 
persons, some of them earnest Christians and loyal 
members of the Clinrch, evil associations. They 
are apt to think, in connection with it, of a type 
of sermon that grates upon their taste, and of 
things said and done, which are revolting to their 
sense of decency and reverence. More serionsly, 
they identify evangelism with a type of conver- 
sion—what Professor Jackson calls the ** explo- 
sive type''— which, even if they admit in any case 
its reality, they rightly allege is not the only or 
the most frequent type. It ought to be stated, 
clearly and emphatically, that to make ' ' evangel- 
ism" a synonym of * ^ revivalism, " is untrue to the 
teaching of the New Testament. To ' ^ evangelize" 
is to proclaim the Glad Tidings, to declare the sal- 
vation of God, wrought out by Jesus Christ, His 

79 



80 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Son, tlie once crncified, the now living and exalted 
Eedeemer, to announce to men, who believingly 
commit, themselves to the Saviour, that they will 
be saved from their sins, and will be restored to 
the privileges which God designed for them when 
He created them in His image, and to summon all 
men everywhere to turn to the God, who thus, in 
Christy stretches out His hands toward sinners. 
It is certain that, in the mercy of God, great 
results will follow faithful evangelism. But these 
results are not designated or described in the 
term ^ ^ evangelism. " The evangelist is not bur- 
dened with the responsibility of producing them. 
He is not tied down to any list or scheme, that 
a theologian, or psychologist, might draw up. 
His one business is to preach the Gospel. No 
doubt, as he proceeds in this business, he will 
make continued and careful study of the human 
soul, and of methods of approach to it, and of 
dealing with it. He will observe, with instructed 
eye, the manifold exercises of the soul under the 
Divine discipline. But, unless he be incredibly 
rash, he will never dream of identifying these ob- 
servations and inferences with the contents of the 
Divine salvation, or make it his primary object to 
produce the phenomena,, which, it may be, do ordi- 
narily follow from his preaching. 

What, therefore. Christian people, who seek to 
know their duty, in this matter, have to' do>, is to 
give to evangelism all its New Testament meaning 
and value, without making the possibly natural, 



SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS 81 

but surely very stupid mistake, of confusing it 
with something that is not intended in the New 
Testament at all. God never says to the Church, 
** Revive yourself, convert the world." God^s 
word to His servants is, '* Preach the Gospel to 
every creature." Their word to Him is, ^^ Revive 
thy work, Lord." 

II. The place of evangelism in the Churches 
ministry. It is a place of absolute primacy. The 
first work required of those who believe in Christ, 
is to make Him known. Nothing can take preced- 
ence of this. Manifold are the duties of the mod- 
ern Church. Their range and scope are wide as 
human nature. All of them, however, are depend- 
ent for power and efficacy on their being dis- 
charged as means toward a more perfect evangel- 
ism. If evangelism be treated as separable from 
them, a non-essential adjunct to them, they lose 
their distinctively Christian significance, and 
cease to form part of the function of the Christian 
Church. The example of the New Testament 
Church warrants us in the conclusion that the 
faithful fulfilment of the duty of evangelism is the 
great source of inspiration and guidance in every 
department of the Church's life and activity. In 
the laws of the spiritual universe, faithful evan- 
gelism is normally followed by genuine revival. 
Let the Church realize, as its first responsibility 
and the first charge upon its strength, the duty of 
preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and there 
will be added to it revival, i, e., a constant renewal 

6 



82 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

of its vital energy, and increase of moral force, 
which shall be manifested in the spiritual growth 
of its own members, in the attraction to it of them 
that are without, in regenerative influence upon 
society, and in victory over hostile forces. A non- 
evangelical, and feebly evangelistic Church, is 
doomed to decay and defeat. But let it be well 
understood that the grace of revival comes from 
God ; the duty of evangelism belongs to man. The 
Church is not directly responsible for its revival. 
It is directly and immediately responsible for its 
duty of evangelism. The paradox of evangelism 
is that, while we must labor for results, we must 
keep our eye fixed primarily on duty. It may be 
that, in God's unsearchable counsels, these reisults 
may not follow in the meiaisure in which we long 
for them. This fact, however, does not, in the 
faintest degree, relieve us of our duty. It ought 
rather to send us to our duty with deeper heart- 
searching and more earnest preparation. 

III. Tests of revival provided hy New Testa- 
ment Evangelism, The value put upon any re- 
vival which may tiake place in the Church must 
depend on the kind of evangelism which has pro- 
duced it. Such a valuation will turn, mainly, upon 
three points: (1) The purity and completeness 
of the message delivered. A revival, of a kind, 
may be produced by an inadequate Gospel ; but it 
will be marred by the deficiences of the message, 
and it may be fraught with danger to all atfected 
by it 



SUMMAEY AND SUGGESTIONS 83 



Thie aim of tiie eivangelist mnst be to preisent 
the Gospel of Christ in its fulness— not contract- 
ing it within the limitiS of some humanly deivised 
system, but enlarging it to the depth of human 
need and the scope of the Divine revelation; and 
in its balance— not emphasizing one element in its 
discovery of God or its appeal to man, toi the ex- 
clusion of others, and so giving rise to the danger 
of reaction, but bringing together, so far a,s is 
possible to a finite and growing mind, th© mani- 
foldness of the grace of God. The evangel- 
ist, accordingly, is called upon tio make a; con- 
tinuous study of the/ New Testiament, that hie 
may obtiain an ever fuller vision of Christ, 
and of God in Him. " Not till Christ is glorified 
can the Spirit come, and genuine revival follow. 
(2) The character of the evangelist, and his expe- 
rience of the Divine life. It is impoissible to re- 
fuse this t,eist, by distinguishing between the mes- 
sage and the man. The power of God to' savei doeis 
not operate magically, whether through a ritei or 
a book or an uttered phrase. It operates, nor- 
mally, upon men, through men. It must>, there- 
fore, manifest itself in those who preach the Gos- 
pel ais a regenerative and sanctifying energy, be"- 
fore it can be proclaimed to others as capable of 
achieving like results in their experience. The 
ideal of the New Testament evangelist is that of 
a man who is himself assimilating and reproduc- 
ing the Divine life, which is derived from Christ, 
and is promised to all who will reiceive Him. An 



84 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

im-Cliiristlike efvangelist is a moral liorror. He 
is, moreover, an imperfect instrmnent. Two 
tilings are required of tlie evangelist who' will 
succeed in liis great vocation. Negatively, he 
must searcli for, and forsake, any obstacle in his 
life and character, which could hinder the move- 
ment of the Holy Spirit through his personality 
toward the souls with whom he is dealing. Posi- 
tively, he must cultivate a, quick and intelligent 
sympathy with man in his need of God, and with 
God in His wise and loving purpose toward man. 
He must be a true representative of God, who is 
both holy and loving. (3) The quality of the ex- 
perience developed in the revival. The question 
will be asked by an observant world, and ought 
to be searchingly asked by the Church: In what 
type of character does the preaching issue? What 
is the moral fruit, of the movement, produced 
through the instrumentality of the evangelists and 
marked by many phenomena of an emotional or 
intellectual kind? A revival which is to coirre^ 
spend to New Testament evangelism, must be 
marked by three great qualities, (i) Depth. To 
preach Christ truly is to break up the deeps of 
the human spirit, to lead to great repentance and 
to a mighty decision, and to inaugurate revolu- 
tionary changes in life and character. A shallow 
revival, which affects the mere surface of the soul, 
and does not reach to the roots of moral being, 
condemns the evangelism which has produced it, 
and is a mockery of the Gospel, (ii) Extension. 



SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS 85 

To preach Christ truly is to proclaim Him Lord 
of all, and to include within His sovereignty the 
whole of life. An unethical revival, which em- 
phasized religion at the expense of morality, or 
made a specialty of ^* holiness," while neglecting 
the plain virtues of truthfulness and integrity, 
would condemn the evangelism which produced it, 
and would be a scandalous misrepresentation of 
the demands of the Goispel, and the claims of 
Christ. (iii) Permanence. To preach Christ 
truly is to preach Him as the abiding source of 
redemptive power, to summon men to a continual 
activity of trust aad obedience, and to keep them 
in solemn remembrance of the final estimate of 
life, at which the Saviour shall preside as Judge. 
A transient revival, satisfied with immediate and 
evanescent results, leaving behind it a trail of 
moral defeat and spiritual disaster— souls imper- 
illed by self-deception, affronted and embittered 
by subsequent self-discovery, a Church tempo- 
rarily inflated with fancied attainment, and in- 
jured, perhaps for a generation, by disillusion- 
ment and reaction — condemns the evangelism 
which produces it, and forms a hindrance to the 
progress of the Gospel in the territory cursed 
by its appearance, worse than the most violent 
hostility of wicked men. 

The lesson of Church History is a deep dis- 
trust of human intrusion into the sphere where 
God is Sovereign. The things which disappoint 
us must re<?all us to our duty, and to a prof ounder 



86 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

reverence for the Divine will, and to a closer ad- 
hesion to the Divine guidance. 

IV. The verdict of the New Testament upon 
incidental features of a revival. When we read 
the narratives in thei Acts, and the references in 
the Pauline epistles, we are warranted in the judg- 
ment, that such features as ecstasy, glossolalia,, 
or visions, may accompany a genuine revival of 
religion, but that they do not register its moral 
or spiritual value. It is possible that the preach- 
ing of the Grospel, and the communication of Di- 
vine power through it, may affect persons of a 
certain temperament^ who have behind them a 
peculiar history, with such an inrush of feeling, 
such a revolution of judgment, such a swift de- 
cision of the will, as to break up the normal state 
of the soul, and to produce a kind of convulsion 
of the whole nature, ihcluding marked effects 
upon the physical frame. By well known psycho- 
logical laws, such elf ectiS tend tO' repeat themselves 
by ^ ^ suggestion ; " and they become more abun- 
dant and more pronounced, when the preaching is 
addressed to crowds. In many instances, where 
such phenomena have appeared, there is no rea- 
son to doubt that there has been a real work of 
God ; but the evidence of reality has not been the 
extraordinary nature of the attendant phenomena, 
but the moral results marked in the characters 
of those affected. It is upon the moral results, 
that the New Testament rests the caise for the 
power of the Gospel. The tendency, intelligible 



SUMMAEY AND SUaGESTIONS 87 

enongh, is to change the empha,sis from the etihioal 
to the semi-physical. This was done at, CoTinth, 
and Paul labors to shew that nothing, not the gift 
of tongues itself, is to be compared toi the eithioal 
results of the Gospel, and in particular to Love, 
the noblest fruit, and clearest demonstration, of 
the Spirit of Grod. All the greatest, evangelists 
have been characterized by the same wisdom. 

The one thiag the evangelist hais to do is to 
preach Christ; the one result he desires is that 
men be brought to Him. Over eostiatic phenom- 
ena,, he will watch, as Paul did, with extreme 
jealousy. He will not deny their possible relation 
to a genuine Christian experience ; but he will hold 
them in strict subordination to the moral conse- 
quences of Christ's dominion over the soul; and, 
if they claim a value and a function which do not 
belong to' them, he will rebuke and repel them. 



PAET n 

EVANGELISM IN HISTORY 

When we pass from tlie times of tlie New Testa- 
ment, and begin to study tlie Mstory of Chris- 
tianity, tlie subject, wMcb is reially of most vital 
interest, and wbicb bas most instiruetion to- give 
us, is tbat of the Churches discharge of its func- 
tion of evangelism. How wais the Gospel preached 
age after age? How was the standard of the New 
Testament maintained, in respect of the contents 
of the message, the character and methods of the 
messengers, and the nature of the results pro^ 
ducedf 

"We have general histories of the Church, in 
which the growth of its polity is described, and 
its relations to the state are studied, with more 
or less of detail regarding the great ecclesiastics 
who have controlled its outward action. 

We have histories of doctrine, in which the 
growth of theology is studied, and we have ana- 
lyzed for us the conditions under which the creeds 
have taken shape and dogmas have been devel- 
oped. 

There is surely room also for a History of 

89 



90 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Evangelism, in which the central theme would be 
the presentation of the Gospel, in the successive 
periods of the Church's life. We desire to hear 
aga,in the Gospel, as it was preached to the men 
and women of the ages past, to note what in it 
specially appealed to them, and most profoundly 
influenced them, and to- study the religious experi- 
ence in which the preaching took effect. Even the 
numerous histories of revivals on the one hand, 
or of preaching on the other, scarcely provide 
what is wanted. We want some competent scholar 
to set before us the history of the Church from 
the point of view of its primary function and 
duty, viz,, its proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, 
and to note for our encouragement or warning 
the degree of approximation to, or divergence 
from, the standard given us in the New Testa- 
ment. 

In these pages^ no such attempt would be pos^ 
sible, even were the writer competent to make it. 
The utmost that can be attempted, and all, per- 
haps, that at present is needed, is to select a few 
instances of evangelism, and briefly toi indicate 
their relation to the New Testament type. This 
will serve to illustrate our theme, and guide us to 
a new realization of our duty in the age in which 
we live. 



CHAPTER L 

THE PKE-BEFOEMATIOIJ CHURCH 

We can not doubt that the Church of the first 
three centuries faithfully discharged the duty of 
evangelism. The facts of its missionary activity, 
and of its heroism in times of persecution, to- 
gether with the purity and beauty of its Christian 
life, are evidence that its faith was directed to 
Christ, and that its witness was steadfastly borne 
to His sufficiency as Saviour and His supremacy 
as Lord. The great controversies, also, in which 
the Church repelled heathen philosophy (Arian- 
ism) or heathen ethic (Pelagianism), constitute 
a confession of Christ before mem, which con- 
tained in it the soul of a true evangelism. Christ 
a Divine Saviour, man wholly dependent on the 
saving grace of God, are the truths which the 
Ancient Church sealed with its testimLony. They 
are the truths which form the central message of 
the Gospel. 

At the same time, we can see that, from very 
early times, extraneous elements began to> intrude 
themselves into the faith, and to mar the sim^ 
plicity and fulness of the Gospel. Greek Philos- 
ophy, which had been defeated in the form of 

91 



92 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Arianism, rei-eiiteired the Church in the form of 
Neoplatonism, and brought with it a false view 
of the relation between God and the world, and 
of salvation as accomplished through asceticism 
and ecstatic rapture. Stoic morality, the highest 
ethic known to the non-Christian world, estab- 
lished itiself in the Church as the proper expres- 
sion of Christian virtue, and bound the Christian 
conscience with a new idea of salvation by works. 
Judaism, in strange combination with hea,then 
conceptions of worship, and with heathen prac- 
tice of ^^ mysteries'' gave rise to a new sacerdotal- 
ism, and a sacramentarianism, which changed the 
simplicity of Christian ordinances into the elabo- 
ration and spurious efficacy of magical rites. 

Within the Christian Church, accordingly, two 
religions confronted one another in a more or less 
conscious opposition down to the times of the 
Eeformation, when the contrast became fully 
manifest, and a terrible disruption of the Church 
took place. On the one hand, there was the re- 
ligion of the New Testament, which gathered it- 
self into the act of faith in the personal Saviour, 
and drew from Him the assurance of forgiveness, 
and the power of moral regeneration. On the 
other hand, there was the religion of tlie non- 
Christian world, in which Christianity grew up in 
the first centuries of its existence, a religion of 
confused and comples elements, which, however, 
bore certain broadly marked, entirely non-evan- 
gelicaJ, features— the interposition of media be- 



PEE-REFORMATION CHURCH 93 

tween the soul and God, tlie conception of salva- 
tion as being dependent on man's meritoTions ac- 
tion, and the promise of forgiveness and accept- 
ance as the far off possible result of self-discipline 
and self -culture. On the one hand, Glad Tidings, 
and the liberty of the Sons of God ; on the other, 
a New Legalism, and a servitude, not less oppres- 
sive than that which] enslaved the conscience, in 
the ages before the redemption of man was accom- 
plished by Christ's Cross and Pa,ssion. The heart 
of the Church was true to the faith of which Christ 
alone is the object. We can trace its presence in 
the hymns of the Middle Ages, and in the simple 
piety of the home, which is, indeed, in all ages 
the central citadel of Christianity. We see it, too, 
in the inner life of the very men who adhered to 
the other form of religion, and were its conviaced 
exponents. 

A genuine experience of salvation through 
simple trust in Christ, together with a doctrine 
wholly inadequate to express the experience, and 
a praxis of piety utterly inconsistent with it, is 
a combination, most conspicuous in the Mediaeval 
Church, and not unintelligible in itself, nor un- 
known even in modern times. 

The evangelism of the Middle Ages, accord- 
ingly, (to use a loose and popular indication of 
dates) uicludes both the forms of religion thus 
indicated. Great evangelists like St. Bernard and 
St. Francis, non-conformists like Savonarola, or 
Wiclif, mystics like John Tauler, all preach Christ 



94 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

with paissioiiate fervour. Says St. Bernard: *'Dry 
is all food to the soul, if it is not sprinkled with 
the oil of Christ. When thon writest, promise 
me nothing nnleis® I read Jesus in it. When 
thou conversest with me on religious themes, 
promise me nothing if I hear not Jesus' voice. 
Jesus— honey to the taste, melody to the ear, 
gladness to the soul." The Name, which is above 
every name, re-sounded through the greiat revivals 
of the Middle Ages, and we trace to this fact the 
continued existence of Christianity. 

At the same time, through all mediaeval evan- 
gelism, we trace the haunting presence of that 
other non- Christian, and indeed, ajiti-Christian 
religion, which the Church took over from heath- 
enism. The Gospel is cast in a negative and 
legal form. It may be urged that preaching of a 
negative and denunciatory kind was needed in 
ages characterized by fleshliness and brutality, 
and that it did produce beneficial results. This 
need not be gainsaid ; and yet such preaching does 
not truly represent the Message of the New Testa- 
ment. It does not set forth a salvation wholly 
wrought by God, and complete in the work of 
Christ. It did not, therefore, and could not, is- 
sue in the experience, in which the soul is enabled 
to cast itself simply and absolutely upon God in 
Christ, to see there before it in Christ its forgive- 
ness and righteousness, and to rise up, free and 
strong, to be His servant and His witness. The 
revivals and reformations produced by this 



PRE-EEFOEMATION CHUECH 95 

preaching dO' not reach the very depth of human 
nature; they do not cover the whole domain of 
human activity; and they endure only for a 
brief period of ascetic fervour, and then sink into 
a backwater of stagnant and corrupting world- 
liness. Sensationalism, emotionalism, hysteria, 
fanaticism, cruelty, and even vice, form the dark 
shadows in the records of the Crusades, of the 
Mendicant Orders, and of spasmodic movements 
like the Florentine Puritanism under Savonarola. 
These things, in whatever age they occur, are the 
fruitage of the mingling of non-Christian with 
Christian elements in the preaching of the Gospel. 
As we read of them, we are recalled from the in- 
ventions of man to the work of God. Again and 
again, the New Testament evangelism verifies it- 
self as the sole standard and guide of ours. 



CHAPTER n 

THE CHURCHES OF THE REFOEMATION 

The Reformation affected many departments of 
hnman activity, and had many results, political 
and intellectual, as well as religious. Funda- 
mentally, however, it was a great revival of re- 
ligion. It had for its direct precursor the evan- 
gelical religion of the home, the simple faith 
which turns continually to its Redeemer and Lord. 
It awoke in the spiritual discipline of one soul, 
and passed through the deep channel of one man's 
personal experience, to revivify the wider life of 
the Church. It propagated itself by an evan- 
gelism which was a return to the New Testament 
type. The sole theme of the preaching, says 
Luther, was the glory of God in Jesus Christ. 
**We preach always Him, the true God and Man 
who died for our sins and rose again for our 
justification. This may seem a limited and mo- 
notonous subject, likely to be soon exhausted, 
but we are never at the end of it. We preachers 
are like young children, who are learning to speak 
and can use only half words and quarter words." 
Such preaching was uncontaminated by Stoicism 

96 



CHURCHES OF REFORMATION 97 

or Neoplatonism. It was simply and solely Chris- 
tian. It placed Christ, where the New Testament 
put Him, in the place He claimed for Himself, as 
the sole object of saving faith, and the only Lord 
of conscience. It reached back throngh Angustine 
and Athanasins to Panl, and beyond Paul, to 
Paul's Lord and Master. It was the reviving of 
the nations which received it. It will raise the 
dead in the Modern Church. It is the salvation of 
the world. It is the only Gospel, 'Hhe sinners' 
only religion." 

Once more we see that evangelism is the pri- 
mary function of the Church, and the great in- 
strument of its reviving. The history of the 
Churches which trace their spiritual ancestry to 
the Reformation contains ample illustration of 
the same principle, and continually reminds us 
that fidelity to the Gospel contained in the New 
Testament is the measure of a Church's vitality 
and efficiency. 

Section I 

GERMANY 

The cause of the Gospel in post-reformation Ger- 
many suffered from two destructive influences. 
One was dogmatism. All Christian experience 
must give rise to doctrine, as the interpretation 
of the new life. Doctrine becomes dogma, when 
it is formulated, and agreed upon as a statement 
of what is commonly believed among Christians. 
7 



98 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Dogma issues in dogmatism, when the content of 
Divine truth is supposed to be stated adequately 
in a series of propositions. Dogmatism provokes 
conflict, because no set of propositions can ex- 
press the fulness of New Testament meaning, 
and in the conflict, vital religion, which is the only 
real concern, is imperilled. The Eef ormation was 
followed by a Protestant dogmatism, in which 
many of the faults of the Mediaeval Scholasticism 
were repeated. It was deadly orthodox, and it 
was utterly deadening. 

The other was war, waged with the fury char- 
acteristic of a soi-called '' religious" war. In its 
savagery, civilization itself all but perished. The 
Protestants were fighting for existence, the Eom- 
anists, under Jesuit guidance, for empire. For 
thirty years the awful struggle continued, till the 
Jesuits so far failed that the boundaries re- 
ma.ined where the Peace of Augsburg (1555) had 
placed them. It can be well understood how the 
Church in its institutional form could scarcely 
operate, and how evangelistic and educational 
work was rendered all but impossible. A gener- 
ation growing up under such influences must 
have suffered unspeakable spiritual impoverish- 
ment. If vital religion was preserved in Ger- 
many, it wa,s due to the movement known as 
Pietism. Its great leaders— John Arndt (1555- 
1621), Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676), Philip Jakob 
Spener (1635-1705), August Hermann Francke 
(1663-1729)— stood in the great evangelical sue- 



CHUECHES OF EEFOEMATION 99 

cession. It was true to the religion of the New 
Testament and to the principles of the Eefor- 
mation. It recalled the Church from a dead or- 
thodoxy to a living faith. By its hymns and de- 
votional works, it fostered the piety of individual 
souls. By its unwearied preaching of the doc- 
trines of grace, it won multitudes to faith in 
Christ. By distributing the scriptures, and by 
founding and maintaining schools and colleges, 
it deepened the apprehension of the people in the 
distinctive features of evangelical religion. By 
such philanthropic enterprises as the building of 
the Orphan House at Halle, it repaired some of 
the ravages of the Thirty Years' War, and gave 
an object lesson in practical Christianity. It was 
remarkable, also, for the care with which it 
trained men for the ministry of the Word. ' ^ More 
than 6,000 theologians," we are told, ^^from all 
parts of Germany received^ up to Francke's death, 
theological education at Halle, and carried the 
leaven of his spirit into as many congregations 
and schools." 

The evangelical succession in Germany was 
carried on by the great New Testament inter- 
preter Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687-1752), and 
by the famous Count Zinzendorff (1700-1760), 
under whose protection and leadership the Church 
of the United Brethren entered upon a new life 
of spiritual enterprise. The history of Germany, 
during two centuries subsequent to the Lutheran 
Eeformation, demonstrates the connection be- 



100 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tween New Testament evangelism and the main- 
tenance and revival of religion. Nothing can 
counteract the baleful effects of a deadening 
intellectualism, whether orthodox dogmatism or 
a heterodox rationalism, save the New Testament 
evangel of Christ crucified and risen. This is life 
from the dead. 

Pietism, however, was not without its defects, 
due, as we can plainly see, not to its preaching 
of the Gospel, but to a failure to preserve entirely 
the New Testament balance and proportion. Dr. 
John Ker, in his noble and beautiful lectures on 
the '^History of Preaching, ' ' sums up these de- 
fects as follows: 

(i) Narrowness, tending to concentrate the 
whole interest of the movement of the soul God- 
ward to the initial stage, conceived strictly under 
the analogy of birth; 

(ii) Subjectivity, tending to cultivate a mor- 
bid examination of the states of the soul, with 
consequent weakening of moral force ; 

(iii) Separatism and quietism, tending to 
withdraw those who have experienced revival 
from the fellowship of the Church, and tO' obscure 
their sense of responsibility toward it. Place a 
type of religious life, of which these are char- 
acteristic features, beside the experience depicted 
in the New Testament^ and the contrast between 
them becomes immediately evident. The evan- 
gelism, which produced the former, coiuld not have 



CHURCHES OF REFORMATION 101 

been, in every respect, conformed to that wliich 
produced the latter. 

The lesson of Pietism is the importance of 
breadth and balance and sanity, in combination 
with the intensity and devotion which is its pe- 
culiar exceUence. 

Section II 
scotland 

The history of the Church of Scotland is mis- 
understood, when it is regarded as one long strife 
about obscure points of doctrine^ or the external 
matters of Church polity. In reality, the central 
interest of the whole record is the progress of 
vital godliness under the ministry of the Word. 
Evangelism and revival— cause and effect— pro- 
vide the true point of view. Nothing was con- 
tended for in Scotland, unless it was believed to 
have organic connection with these central in- 
terests. Mistakes, no doubt, were made. In the 
process of the long conflict, things came to be re- 
garded as vital, which were not really so. But at 
all the great epochs of the history, the supreme 
concern and the great instrument of victory was 
the Gospel, as it is contained in the New Testa- 
ment, and a,s it was rediscovered at the Refor- 
mation. 

*^ Scotland," is has been said, **has been pre- 
eminently a land of revivals." **If there is any 



102 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

connection between the history of a Church and 
her spiritual life, then assuredly the records of 
Scottish Christianity cast no reflection upon its 
evangelism; for, if we read the story aright, re- 
vival is inscribed in the brightest characters on 
her country's past, splendidly lighted up as that 
past is by martyr piles and deeds of renown.'' 

The story of the Celtic Church can never be 
told in detail. The names of Ninian and Patrick, 
Columba and Kentigern, are those of men who 
were great evangelists and missionaries. In the 
Church founded by them, there was developed a 
type of religion far nearer to the New Testa- 
ment than it was to the corruptions of medisB- 
valism. Dr. Blaikie in his ^^ Preachers of Scot- 
land" has characterized the sixth century as *^the 
great era of Scottish evangelism," and has 
summed up his estimate of the ministry of the 
Celtic Church as, (a) A Ministry of the Word; 
(b) A ministry of the life; (c) A ministry of 
song; (d) A ministry of enterprise. 

The Scottish Church suffered, perhaps more 
than others in the middle ages, from the blight 
of Eomanism; and the Eeformation was in her 
case pre-eminently life from the dead. It is 
matter of history that the power which liberated 
the Scottish people from the bondage of super- 
stition and ignorance was the Gospel of Divine 
grace. The instruments of this emancipation, and 
the true makers of the Scottish nation were the 
preachers of the evangel. 



CHURCHES OF REFOEMATION 103 

The lesson of three centuries of Scottish his- 
tory is that the effective force in quickening, up- 
lifting, and consolidating a people, is evangelical 
religion, and that the men who are most pro- 
foundly aiding the welfare of a nation are those 
who carry on the work of evangelism in a faith- 
ful proclamation of the message of redemption. 
The leaders of the Eeformation in Scotland were 
all, first and foremost, preachers of the Word. 
Men like Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, John 
Knox, Robert Bruce, John Welch, John David- 
son, whatever work they undertook in the exi- 
gencies of the times, knew well that their great 
errand in Scotland was to preach the Gospel, and 
they gave the best of their energies to this sacred 
function. It is impossible to miss, in the great 
public manifestoes of the Church, the note of 
deep religious earnestness, and of singularly clear 
apprehension of evangelical truth. The Scots 
Confession of Faith, (1560), statement of doctrine 
though it be, beats with the warm heart, of per- 
sonal experience; cf. articles 1, 8, 16, 18, ^^of 
God,'' ^^of election," ^^of the Kirk,'' ^^of the 
notes." 

In the history of the Scottish Church, the 17th 
century is the period of her greatest trial and her 
greatest glory. 

Amid the points at issue between the Church 
and her persecutors, one stands out conspicuous 
and supreme, viz,, the Headship of Christ. To 
vindicate **the crown rights of the Redeemer," 



104 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tihe loyal members of the Scottish Church, nobles 
and peasantry alike, were prepared to venture 
their all. As they went into battle, they inscribed 
on their banners the motto, ^^for Christ's Crown 
and Covenant.'' When they suffered martyr- 
dom, on the heather moor, by the margin of the 
sea,, or in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh, it was 
well understood, by those who slew them, and by 
those who saw them die and heard their last 
prayers and testimonies, that the witness they 
were sealing with their blood, was to the absolute 
sovereignty of Christ in His Church, and over 
the conscience, a sovereignty purchased by His 
deed of love upon the Cross. They gave their 
life for His sake and the Gospel's. If there is 
a Gospel preached in Scotland to-day, and in lands 
scarcely discovered, when that grim fight was 
waging, if, indeed, there is liberty of conscience 
and freedom of worship anywhere under the 
'British Crown, it is due to these martyrs of the 
Covenant, who counted the evangel more precious 
than any earthly thing. 

The leaders in this great conflict were the 
preachers of the Word. Their influence with the 
people lay wholly in the Gospel they preached. 
We read of their actions in other fields, and one 
may not always be able to approve their wisdom. 
But their evangelism was great and true ; and by 
this they held Scotland for the Kingdom of God 
and His righteousness. 

Among the more outstanding names are these : 



CHURCHES OF REFORMATION 105 

Alexander Henderson, whose prayer at the sign- 
ing of the Covenant formed part of that great 
act of national consecration; David Dickson of 
Irvine, under whom took place a wide revival in 
the West; Robert Blair of St. Andrew's, noted 
as a great expository preacher; Samuel Ruther- 
ford of Anwoth by the Solway, whose passionate 
devotion throhs his letters; (An English mer- 
chant's characterization of the three just men- 
tioned is well known, but will bear repeating:— 
*'I went to St. Andrew's where I heard a most 
majestic looking man (Blair) ; and he shewed me 
the majesty of God, After him, I heard a little, 
fair man, (Rutherford) ; and he shewed me the 
loveliness of Christ, I then went to Irvine, where 
I heard a well-favoured, proper, old man, with a 
long beard (Dickson) ; and that man shewed me 
all my heart,'') John Livingston, under whose 
preaching, while yet a young probationer, the 
great revival at Kirk o' Shotts took place; Wil- 
liam Guthrie of Fenwick, of whose book, **The 
Christian's great Interest," the eminent Puritan 
divine John Owen said, ^^That book is my vade 
mecum; and there is more theology in it than in 
all the other folios I have written;" Richard 
Cameron, the young warrior saint who died at 
Ayrsmoss, whose preaching rang with Gospel 
appeals and warnings; James Renwick, the *^boy 
Renwick," a great preacher of Jesus Christ and 
Him crucified, the last of the martyr roll, as 
another youth, Patrick Hamilton had been the 



106 NEW TESTAMENT EVANaELISM 

first. A great appeal by Eichard Cameroia, in a 
sermon at Crawford, in tlie Upper Ward of Lan- 
arkshire, is quoted by Blaikie, and may be repro- 
duced here, as an eisample of the eivangelism, 
which kept Scotland true to Christ in the dark 
days of persecution. ^^Will ye take Him, yea or 
nay 1 Will ye take Him home with you ! Take the 
glorious Person who has occasioned our coming 
together here this day into this wild place. What! 
Shall I say that any of you were not content to 
take Him! I would fain think that some would 
take Him. And if, from the bottom of your heart, 
ye have a mind to take Him, ye shall get the 
earnest of the Spirit, He will in no wise cast you 
out. Poor, vile drunkard, take Him. Upsitten 
professor, it is such as you He is seeking after. 
Our Lord cannot get entertainment among the 
scribes and pharisees. Well, poor thing that hast 
neither skill nor religion, are ye content to take 
Him! He speaks peace to you. Go, sin no more." 
^ ^ My master hath been crying unto you in the 
parishes of Muirkirk, and Crawfurdjohn, and 
Dougla,s, ^ Ye will not come untoi me that ye might 
have life.' What say ye. Shall I go away and 
tell my Master that ye will not come unto Him! 
I take instruments before these hills and moun- 
tains around us, that I have ocffered Him unto 
you this day. Angels are wondering at the offer. 
They stand beholding with admiration that our 
Lord is giving you such an offer this day. Look 
over to the Shawhead and all these hills— look 



CHUECHES OF REFORMATION 107 

at them ! They are all witnesses now, and when 
you are dying they shall come before your face." 
*^Here," it is reported, '^minister and people fell 
into a state of calm weeping.'' 

During the 18th century many causes co-oper- 
ated to lower the tone of religious life in Scot- 
land. Among these, the Patronage Act of 1712 
was not the least influential. The so-called ' ' Mod- 
erates" sought to reduce Christianity to ai form 
of culture; and the expreission of their spirit may 
be seen in the characteT of *^ Jupiter" Carlyle. 

Once more, history reads out impressively 
the lesson that the message of the New Testa- 
ment is the reviving of the Church. A little 
book entitled *^The Marrow of Modem Divin- 
ity," fell into the hands of Thomas Boston of 
Ettrick. He rejoiced in it, he says, ^^as a light 
which the Lord had seasonably struck up to me 
in my darkness." Through him, and others like 
minded, nicknamed the ^^ marrow men," evangel- 
ical religion was able to withstand the inroads 
of moderatism, and save Scotland from practical 
heathenism. The new life organized itself, in one 
direction, in the Churches of the Secession. But 
within the pale of the State Church, evangelism 
was not lacking, and the seal of the Divine ap- 
proval was not withheld. Names like those of 
Alexander Webster and John Erskine are held in 
deserved honor. In 1742, a revival took place 
at Cambuslang, under the preaching of White- 
field, who came to Scotland, with true missionary 



108 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

zeal, but perhaps, with an Englishmaa's congenital 
incapacity to nnderstand the Scottish character. 
He made jokes, when he should have been serious. 
He undervalued the importance of discipline and 
order. He placed exaggerated emphasis on the 
subjective parts of religion, and his preaching 
was followed by physical phenomena of a painful 
kind. Extracts from Gillies' ^^ Historical Col- 
lections'' give a very favorable account of the 
work, and indicate that revival spread very widely 
in Scotland. It is remarkable, however, that the 
Churches of the Secession held aloof from the 
movement, and even strongly condemned it^ It 
was welcomed by some ministers of the Establish- 
ment ; but it was not followed by any widespread 
or enduring revival in the State Church. There 
can be no doubt, however, that the work of White- 
field and the English Methodists in Scotland, un- 
familiar and unsuccessful though, in large meas- 
ure, it was, did prepare tlie way for the evan- 
gelical revival, which has left so deep a mark in 
the history of the 19th century. 

The quickening of religious life in Scotland in 
the opening years of the 19th century came 
through the medium of a personal experience. In 
his manse at Kilmany, Thomas Chalmers, like 
Luther in his convent at Erfurt, faced the problem 
of salvation. He found the solution^ where Luther 
found it, in the act which casts the soul upon the 
mercy of God in Christ. The sa,ving work of God 
in Christ— the * ' objective part" of religion— stood 



CHURCHES OF REFOEMATION 109 

out before his gaze as tlie deed of infinite love 
meeting tlie infinite need of man. His own soul 
revived, and his preaching became the very evan- 
gelism of the New Testament, that mighty instru- 
ment in the renewal of the Divine life in the in- 
dividual and in the Church. His career hence- 
forward, whether as Parish Miaister or as Theo- 
logical Professor, is that of an evangelist. Even 
his actions as an ecclesiastical statesman are in- 
spired by this one concern, the freedom of the 
evangel. The formation of the Free Church in 
1843 was the direct issue of a policy which had 
no other aim than to preserve inviolate Christ's 
Headship over His Church, and the Church's po^ 
sition as His witness-bearer. 

Like the Churches of the Secession, the Free 
Church was born of evangelism; and the union 
of the United Presbyterian Church— representing 
the Secession Churches of the 18th Century— and 
the Free Church— representing the evangelical 
party in the old State Church, as well as the 
Covenanters who had never entered the Estab- 
lishment—which was accomplished in 1900, was 
inspired, as all the great movements of Scottish 
Church History have been, by the deep conviction 
that the one paramount interest and concern of 
the Christian Church is to preach the Gospel of 
Divine saving grace to a sinful world, and that 
the one worthy policy of the Church is to labour 
for the amplest discharge of her primary duty 
of evangelism. 



110 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Dr. Chalmers was the founder of Home Mis- 
sion work in the Scottish Church, and in all th,e 
Churches of the Presbyterian order throughout 
the Empire. He had associated with him devoted 
laymen, of whom Dr. Harry Eainy, father of the 
late Principal Eainy, is a noted example. In 
other parts of the country, the work of evangel- 
ism was carried forward by such able ministers 
as Guthrie, MacDonald of Ferintosh, and Stewart 
of Cromarty. Outside the Establishment, the 
evangelical revival was powerfully aided by such 
men as Dr. John Brown, and Ralph Wardlaw. 
The reisult confirms the law, which may be seen 
operating in eveiry epoch; evangelism was fol- 
lowed by revival; and reivival manifested itself 
in abundant and earnest labour for the winning 
of the Christless world. 

In the slums of Scottish Cities, and in far off 
heathen lands, the throb of the new life was felt. 
As we study the evangelism, thus inaugurated by 
Chalmers, certain features in it command atten- 
tion: (i) The preaching was not merely earnest, 
but strongly intellectual. It was not merely fer- 
vent in its appeals, but clear and vigorous in its 
statements of objective truth. It had a firm grasp 
of the religious principles of the Reformation, and 
presented them as the vital and intelligible ele- 
ments of a sound and reasonable faith. It was 
intensely Biblical. It believed profoundly in the 
message of the Bible, as the very Word of God. 
Its exegesis may have erred in certain passages, 



CHUECHES OF EEFOEMATION 111 

but it got down to facts, which no criticism can 
a,ffect, the fundamental need of man as a sinner 
guilty and helpless, the everlasting love of God, 
His purpose of redemption achieved on the Cross 
of Christy His Divine power in its operation on 
the human spirit. For the Grospel, thus rooted 
in the Word of God, there is no substitute, (ii) 
In respect of method, we note the absence of many 
things, which have come to be regarded as in- 
dispensable. There were, of course, no musical 
instruments employed. The Psalms provided the 
only material of song. The evangelists relied ab- 
solutely on the ministry of the Word; and their 
trust was not disappointed. We note, however, 
also the presence of elements that are erroneously 
supposed to be a discovery of very recent date. 
These evangelists read their Bibles too closely, 
and studied the conditions under which they 
worked too intelligently, to neglect what is often 
described as ^ ' social Christianity. ' ' 

Chalmers and Guthrie were pioneers in the 
work of ameliorating social conditions, and in 
their efforts the preaching of the Gospel was com- 
bined with the most practical schemes of educa- 
tional and social reform. They were too wise to 
confine themselves to an evangelism which forgot 
the body in its care for the soul, or the community 
in its search for the individual. And they never 
entertained the folly of supposing that any real 
regeneration of society can take place^ which is 
not based on the reconciliaton of man to God. 



112 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

It is not to be claimed for tliese men, that the 
methods tkey employed are the only ones per- 
missible. Growing experience will, of oonrse, 
devise improved methods. But we may assuredly 
learn from them that no method is permissible 
which displaces or undervalues the Gospel as the 
power of God to salvation. Whatever we' may 
learn to associate with it as instrumentally ef- 
fective, the Gospel must stand supreme. The Mod- 
ern Church must, bend her energies, first and 
chiefly to a full and able delivery of the message, 
(iii) As to spiritual results, the evidence war- 
rantiS the conclusion that these were deep, genuine, 
and lasting. The physical phenomena, which have 
often marred seasons of revival, were conspicuous 
by their absence. A people, grave by temper- 
ament, trained by centuries of history in a love 
of order, among whom religion had always been 
a power for righteousness, was affected mainly in 
the conscience, and agonized to- enter the King- 
dom in exercises of soul too serious for quick and 
evanescent emotion. It is possible, of course, to 
make the ghastly and cruel mistake of attempting 
to force the soul through experienceis not native 
to it. Differences of temperament and psycho- 
logical atmosphere must be allowed for. But it 
is surely a perilous thing tot cure any spiritual 
wound lightly. The wound is there. Sin is sin; 
and nothing can alter that fact. No' remedy that 
does not proclaim forgiveness and victory can 
reach the evil. The records of revivals are too 



CHURCHES OF REFORMATION 113 

often dark with! the spiritual tragedy of back- 
sliding. The nrnnber of converts who ^* stand," 
will be proportionate to the number of souls who 
have been mastered by the Holy Love of God, and 
have been won by the twofold vision of sin and 
grace manifest in the Redeemer's Cross. 

What is true of the evangelism of the first half 
of the 19th century remains substantially true of 
that of the latter half, with, of course, also dis- 
tinctive features. The ministry of laymen be*- 
comes conspicuous. In connection with the re- 
vival of 1859, we observe the names of many lay 
preachers, and are struck by the differences in 
their social rank, and in their type of experience'. 
Broivnlow North was a man of high social posi- 
tion. Duncan Mathieson wa,s a stone-hewer. 
Robert Cunningham was a butcher. H. M. Grant 
of Arndilly was* a landed proprietor. Reginald 
Radclijfe was a la,wyer. James Turner was a fish- 
curer. Robert Annan had been a runaway sol- 
dier. The depth of the movement which followed 
is often commented on in histories of the period, 
and in the spoken reminiscences of persons still 
living. 

Emphasis was laid on the awful realities of 
guilt and condemnation. Appeal was made to the 
conscience. Ecstatic phenomena were not en- 
couraged, and it was noted when these began to 
appear, the real work of God began to cease. It 
wa.s in this period, also, that there tiook place an 
immense development of home-missionary a,ctiv- 

8 



114 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ity; and hosts of workers, male and female, old 
and yonng, came from the ranks of the Church's 
membership. The modern form of congregational 
life, in which the minister is the leader of a great 
band organized for service, took shape in the 
years subsequent to 1859. 

The preaching of Dwight L. Moody had distinc- 
tive features, which will be touched on in connec- 
tion with evangelism in America. Its effect on 
the religious life of Scotland was deep and perma- 
nent. Theology became more experimental, and 
without losing hold of the doctrines of grace, was 
less bound by the ideal of systematic complete- 
ness. Moody held a very rigid theory of inspira- 
tion, but he used the Bible in so vivid and realistic 
a fashion, as to give Biblical study an immense 
impetus. There can be no doubt that Scottish 
scholarship owes much to this unlettered evangel- 
ist. He taught the younger generation of Scottish 
students that a criticism which ignores the relig- 
ious interests is not merely destructive, but unsci- 
entific. In the persons of well known modern 
Scottish scholars, keenest scientific spirit and 
scrupulous scientific methods are combined with 
unfeigned acceptance of the Bible as the Word of 
God, and with a very earnest evangelism. 

In methods of evangelism. Moody was a great 
teacher of Scottish ministers and people. In par- 
ticular, he directed attention to work among young 
men, and stamped deep on the Christian conscious- 
ness the duty and the importance of personal 



CHUECHES OF REFORMATION 115 

work. Upoii one man especially did Moody put 
his mark. No two evangelists ever stood in 
greater outward contrast than Moody and Henry 
Drummond. None ever stood closer to one an- 
other in affection and mutual loyalty. Drum- 
mond's own work as an evangelist lay among a 
special class. He sought to win to the obedience 
of faith those to whom the rigid orthodoxy of the 
past had become impossible. Perhaps he had a 
keener insight into the difficulties of the modem 
mind than into the permanent value of the older 
doctrinal statements. But in his presentation of 
Christ as the Saviour and Lord of the human 
spirit, and in his insistence upon loyalty to- Him 
as the centre of Christianity, he occupied defi- 
nitely New Testament ground. Moody and Drum- 
mond did a work wholly consistent with the evan- 
gelical succession in which they stood. If the 
experiences produced under their preaching lacked 
in any degree the intensity and strength which 
characterized that which followed on the older 
evangelism, it was marked by notes of love and 
beauty and tenderness that are essential to the 
fulness of Christian life; and Scottish Christian- 
ity has been proportionately elevated and en- 
riched. 

Reviewing the history of religion in Scotland, 
we see that its centre has lain in evangelism, and 
not in ^^ revivalism." The aim of the evangelical 
leaders ha,s been to preach the Gospel in power, 
not to create religious excitement. The lesson 



116 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

is of the greatest importance. The Cburch is re^ 
sponsible for evangelism, and not for revival. 
The age in which we live peculiarly needs the 
rebuke and encouragement of this principle. We 
are summoned to evangelism ; and for revival we 
are cast upon the sovereign grace of God. 

Section III 

EITGLAND 

The course of religious life in England is a 
profoundly interesting study, and is one which, 
from its complexity, is difficult in the extreme. 
Without attempting a complete analysis, we may 
observe three great types of Christianity which 
have commanded the adhesion of great portions 
of the English people. We may even say, broadly 
speaking, that they divide among them the great 
bulk of the non-Eomanist population. 

1. The Anglican type*, as represented by the 
High Church party. It would not be accurate to 
describe even very ^^high" Anglicans as Roman- 
ists in disguise; and it would be grossly unfair to 
hound them toward Rome with taunts of dishon- 
esty. At the same time, they would themselves 
disclaim any spiritual succession to the Reform- 
ers. It can scarcely be incorrect to ascribe to 
them that essentially mediaeval type of Chris- 
tianity against which Luther and the other Re- 
formers uttered so strenuous a protest. It is a 
type which, along with vital New Testament ele- 



CHUECHES OF REFOEMATION 117 

ments in doctrine, in worship, and in personal 
religion, has combined much which entered Chris- 
tianity from non-Christian sources. It stands 
widely removed from the religious experience, 
which is described under the reformation desig- 
nation of ^* justification by faith." Probably the 
most perfect example which history presents of 
this type, is to be found in William Law, the non- 
juror. In him we find combined intense moral 
earnestness, high Nicene orthodoxy, a strenuous 
discipline of the soul, an ardent sacramentarian- 
ism, and a deep mystic piety ; but we do not find 
the New Testament Gospel of the saving grace 
of God in Christ, and the New Testament promise 
of salvation on condition of personal trust in the 
Living Lord. Wesley, ten days before his con- 
version, wrote a letter to Law, which is marred 
by haste and vehemence. The fact remains, how- 
ever, that Wesley had learned what Law never 
taught him, what the essence of the New Testa- 
ment message really is. Law has many represent- 
atives in the modem Church of England. They 
are men of the noblest personal character, and of 
unwearied diligence. But when we read their ser- 
mons, their hymns, and their devotional writings, 
when we study their biographies, and watch their 
methods of Christian activity, we are constrained 
to combine our warm admiration of them with the 
judgment that theirs is not the evangelism of the 
New Testament. No personal qualities, however 
high, no abilities, however eminent, no success, 



118 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

however conspicuous, can countervail this grave 
defect. It is '' another gospel" which these men 
preach; not the message which, in the first cen- 
tury and the sixteenth, won the world to Christ. 

2. The Puritan type. It is very easy to take 
debased specunens of this type, and, by a, logic as 
conspicuously bad as the prejudice which prompts 
it, to construct a conception of Puritanism at once 
malicious and ridiculously unhistorical. 

Men who attached themselves to the Puritan 
party were, some of them, guilty of fanaticism, 
which led them into absurdities and immoralities. 
But Puritanism in the seventeenth century saved 
the liberties of England, and laid firm and sure 
the ba,sis of the political fabric which the states- 
men of succeeding generations have^ been building 
in the beauty and strength of ordered freedom 
and social righteousness. Probably the service of 
Puritanism to the state has obscured the religious 
value of its work. Yet it remiaiins true that the 
strength of Puritanism lay in its evangelism ; and 
that, by its preaching of tlie Gospel, the fruits of 
the Eeformation were kept for religious life in 
England. The controversies of the time were 
fierce, and the record of them now is dreary ; but 
when John Owen, that driest and most copious of 
controversialists, writes on the Glory of Christ, 
or Forgiveness, or the Work of the Spirit, he 
moves amid the high themes of New Testament 
truth as one at home therein, toi whom no interest 
was deeper than the Gospel of Divine grace. The 



CHURCHES OF EEFORMATION 119 

political ta,sks of the day weire great, but., if we 
desire to see the real aim and endeaivour of Puri- 
tanism, we shall find them written out in the pa,- 
tience and wisdom and zeal of Eichard Baxter's 
work in Kidderminster. And when, in the end, 
Puritanism ceased to be dominanit in the State, 
and lay under the heel of profligatle reactionaries, 
we see its deep spirituality, and its fearless loy- 
alty to the religious principles of the Eef ormation, 
and in its firm grasp on Biblical truth, in the 
preaching of such an itinerant eivangelist, and im- 
passioned witness for the faith, as John Bunyan. 
His account of his policy as an evangelist, of the 
sequence of his themes, of his trials and temptar 
tions before, during, and after preaching, consti- 
tutes such a study of the function of evangelism 
as ought to be familiar to every minister of the 
Word. The blight of eighteenth century indiffer- 
ence fell upon the non-conformists of England; 
and *^the Revolution in Tanner's Lane" — to men- 
tion one of the most brilliant satires on Independ- 
ency in England in the first quarter of the nine- 
teenth century— no doubt doesi represent the 
depths to which Puritanism had sunk. It would 
be false, however, to say that Puritanism had 
departed from the faith and life' which had 
made it great. In such men as Thomas Bin- 
ney, C. H. Spurgeon, R. W. Dale, and Alex. Mc- 
Laren, it underwent a splendid revival. Their 
preaching is evangelism, strong and full— the very 
message of the New Testament, the old story of 



120 NEW TESTAMENT; EVANGELISM 

grace in its direct applicatiorL to the manifold need 
of man. Century after century the Gospel proves 
its unchanging identity and its infinite adapta- 
bility to tlie changing conditions of human life. 

3. The Methodist type. Wesley belongs to the 
spiritual order of Luther and Paul. His conver- 
sion is from a religion of legalism, to a religion 
of grace. His message is that of the New Testa- 
ment—God is in Christ reconciling the world to 
Himself, saving men by the faith which receives 
Christ as Saviour, and wholly casts the soul upon 
Him. His sense of infinite debt to Christ became 
the spring of life-long evangelistic effort. Eesults 
followed, in the evangelization of the heathen 
masses of English population, over whom the 
dead Church had ceased to have the slightest 
power, which it would be sheer perversity to un- 
dervalue. It is needless to give even the briefest 
illustration. The facts are patent and universally 
acknowledged. Wherever modern Methodism re^ 
tains in any degree its primal impulse, it is de- 
voted to the cause of evangelism. It has had con- 
spicuous success wherever it has entered neglected 
fields, as in the slum districts of great cities, in 
sparsely populated or pioneer territories, and in 
heathen lands. Its life and vigor, indeed, are 
bound up with evangelism. What is true of all 
Christian denominations, is emphatically true of 
Methodism. If it is not faithful to its function of 
evangelism, it will perish. It has no foe so deadly 
as self-satisfaction. It is not immediately con- 



OHUECHES OF EEFORMATION 121 

cemed witli a doctrinal system, or an ecclesiasti- 
cal polity. In its best forms, it is characterized by 
a splendid concentration upon the one task of 
reaching lost sinners with the Good News of God's 
pity and His power to save. 

When we seek to learn the lessons of Metho- 
dist evangelism, we find that its strength and its 
weakness converge at the same point. Its power 
lies in what we may term its subjectivity. It is 
determined not to be satisfied, apart from definite 
results, discernible within the experience of the 
individual soul. It is the foe of all formalism. 
It insists on the experience of regeneration, regis- 
tered in conscious acts and emotions of the soul. 
Its danger also lies in its subjectivity. Some of 
the criticism which Dr. Ker was led to pass on 
German Pietism may be applied to Methodism^ 
which is, through Wesley's conversion experi- 
ences, in close spiritual affinity with: Pietism. 
There is a tendency tot make too much of feeling 
and to gauge the power of a revival by the mani- 
festations of emotion. This, of course, is no- real 
test. Emotion may be combined with a very inade- 
quate sense of moral obligation. There is a 
ghastly possibility of having a great many sweet 
** frames" and * ^feelings," and being , morally, a 
very unworthy representative of the Christian 
name. The result of this is. inevitable reaction 
against the very idea of religion. These defects 
and dangers, however, are not integral elements 
in Methodism. They have been repudiated by its 



122 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

responsible leaders, who have sought to maintain 
in their eivangelism the veiry proportions of the 
New Testament message.. 

Once more, accordingly, we have read out to 
us from the page of history the lesson that the 
Church's first and permanent concern is evangel- 
ism. It is concerned with revival, only as a result 
of God's working by His Spirit through the min- 
istry of the Word. It has tO' preach the redeeming 
deed, and to call men to faith in the Redeemer. 

What follows upon the preaching belongs to 
God. We must wait and pray for revival; but 
we must never imagine that we can manufacture 
it. Still less ought we to yield to the temptation 
of registering the reality of revival by its by-pro- 
ducts. Character alone can be the mark of a gen- 
uine work of God. 

Section" IV 

THE UI^ITED STATES OF AMERICA 

In- reviewing the evangelistic activities of the 
Christian Church in the United States during a 
century and a half, we observe marked changes in 
the style of the evangelism, and in the kind of re- 
ligious effects produced by it. We can scarcely 
be mistaken in our estimate that during that pe- 
riod of time from Jonathan Edwards to Dwight 
L. Moody, there has been a steady growth upward 
to a fuller and more balanced statement of the 
Gospel message, with a corresponding' advance in 



CHURCHES OF REFOEMATION 123 

the type of religious experience answering to the 
preaching. 

In a brief glance over the history, our atten- 
tion is directed to five great movements of evan- 
gelism and revival. 

1. The great awakening, 1734-1750. When we 
read the sermons, under which the revival took 
place, we note what we are compelled to regard 
as a want of balance in the message. The Gospel 
can not be truly preached without the presence 
in the preacher's heart of the ^* terror of the 
Lord," or without reference to it in his message. 
But this urgency of judgment does not warrant 
revolting descriptions of torment, or lurid appeals 
to the emotion of unmitigated fear. 

The very titles of Edwards' sermons indicate 
that he erred in this matter. Compare ^* Sinners 
in the hands of an angry God," ^^ Wrath upon the 
wicked to the uttermost," '^ Wicked men useful in 
their destruction only," ^^The torments of the 
wicked in Hell, no occasion of grief to the saints 
in Heaven," with the reports of evangelism, our 
Lord's and His apostles', preserved in the New 
Testaiment, and surely we must conclude that the 
former do not correctly reproduce the tenor and 
spirit of the latter. We do not need to be mechan- 
ical in our theory of inspiration, to regard the 
New Testament aiS our standard. If we do this, 
we shall be conscious that all preaching, thus 
measured, is marked by comparative failure. But 
this will not hinder us from noting those features 



124 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

in any particular religions movement in which it 
failed to represent the fulness of the Gospel. We 
are not surprised, after we read these sermons 
and follow the narratives of the proceedings of 
men far less sane than Edwards, to' hear of the 
kind of results that ensued. The only possible 
result was an emotional cataclysm, which might, 
or might not, usher the subject of it into a higher 
ethical life. That many were thus wrenched out 
of their sinful life is undeniable. It must be de- 
nied, however, that the coercion of terror was> the 
best, or the only means, of effecting the desired 
change. 

The Churches of New England were undoubt- 
edly awakened out of spiritual slumber by a 
preaching which was characterized by the solem- 
nity and awfulness of a Day of Divine Judgment. 
People who had been immersed in worldliness 
were brought suddenly, by a, tremendous compul- 
sion, to realize the nearness of the unseen world 
and the unspeakable terror of violated law. It 
may well be that, without this Great Awakening, 
the nation might have grown to a godless strength, 
and the political revolution of the later years of 
the eighteenth century might have been marked 
by the excesses which marred the overthrow of 
monarchy in France. To recognize that such ben- 
efits did follow the Edwardian revival, however, 
does not commit us to entire approval of its evan- 
gelism. Not even to produce an awakening, is it 
permitted to the Church to proclaim any other 



CHURCHES OF EEFORMATION 125 

messaige titan tJiat of the Gospel of Clirist. All 
that was done in Neiw England in; the middle of 
the eighteenth centnry might have been better 
wrought by a cloiser a,dhe'sion to the New Testa- 
ment type. In particular, it wonld have been 
saved from two defects to which the narratives 
bear witness, viz.: (a) the deplorable nervons re- 
sults produced by the methods adopted; (b) the 
swiftness with which the revival subsided, to be 
followed by a period of widespread religious in- 
difference^ 

The story of the G-reat Awakening contains 
wa.ming, a,s well a,s encouragement. We are en- 
couraged to believe that God will not forsake His 
Church, but will visit it in judgment and in mercy, 
when its sins and backslidings call for His dis- 
ciplinary dealing. We are warned against forcing 
His hand by methods not approved in His word. 
It is certain that the nearer our preaching ap- 
proaches the Gospel standard, the mightier, more 
comprehensive, and more permanent will its ef- 
fects be on the Church and the nation. In any 
ca,se, we have but one duty, to preach the Goispel 
of which Christ Himself is the secret and centre. 
Out of that preaching results will come in the 
Divine appointment, according to Divine knowl- 
edge of the souls of men. 

2. The Kentucky revival, 1796-1815. The peo- 
ple, among whom this work was done, were of 
Scotov-Irish stock, and did not lack virility. They 
had, however, the disadvantage of being cut off 



126 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

from tLe educational opportunities which are 
needed to give stability and guidance to a people 
of strongly passionate impulses. 

They certainly needed spiritual quickening and 
moral uplift ; "but they were in that state of nerv- 
ous instability which would predispose them to- the 
worst results of revivalism. The evangelism ap- 
plied to them suited itself to this side of their na- 
ture. There was powerful preaching of judg- 
ment, with constant appeal to the instinct of fear. 
The conditions under which the work was done, 
in protracted meetings, with dense crowds, often 
held in the forest, were such as almost inevitably 
to produce the results which did follow, ^'jerk- 
ing," * laughing," ^^ barking," and other manifes- 
tations of frenzy. 

Such things actually become fashionable, and 
ttio criticise them adversely was to come under 
suspicion of unspirituality. It is a melancholy 
story; and its lesson should be burned into the 
consciousness of the Church. These things are 
not the insignia of the Holy Spirit. Methods of 
preaching and dealing, which are calculated and 
intended to produce them, are forbidden to the 
followers of Christ. It is true that even the wisest 
and most loving preaching of the Gospel might in 
certain subjects produce nervous effect,s. But 
these are not to be looked upon, and paraded, as 
proof of the Holy Spirit's working; and they are 
never to be deliberately sought for. They have no 
religious value, and they may issue in results sub- 



CHURCHES OF REFORMATION 127 

versive eveta of morality. Statistics warrant the 
conclnsion that revivalism aiiid vice are not far re- 
moved. It is said that the counties of Kentucky 
where lynching is most frequent, are those where 
revivals have been most pronounced. 

Deep and pure eonotion is an element in all 
great spiritual expeTience; but emotionalism in 
religion is a disease to be dreaded. 

3. Nettleton and Finney. Those honored 
names represent a distinct upward movement. 
The gloom and horror of earlier revivals is being 
left behind. It is true that in Western New York 
State, where Finney cliiefiy labored, there was an 
immense amount of nervous instability, and that 
the phenomena of physical excitement did fre- 
quently follow his work. 

But it is also true that the evangelism was 
wiser, more Biblical in spirit and method, more 
morally persuaisive; and the defmitely religious 
and ethical growth of the- converts was. unmisr- 
takable. 

4. The Revival of 1857-1859. In this remark- 
able movement, a great advance toward New Tes- 
tament evangelism was undoubtedly made/. The 
records of it are full of the spirit of the Acts of 
the Apoistles. It began, continued, and grew in 
the spirit of prayer. It had no mechanical appar 
ratus. It was peculiarly a la^nnan's moveiment 
and it spread mainly by personal influence. ^*It 
became, ' ' says one whose verdict is never too fa- 
vorable to revivals (F. M. Davenport, author 



128 NEW TESTAMENT EVANaELISM 

'^Primitive Traits in EeligioTis Eevivals"), ^*a 
quiet,, deep, and sane spiritnal movement, wMcli 
pervaded and invigorated the higher life of the 
American peoplei. ' ' It appealed, not to crudei and 
passing emotions of feiar, and apprehensions of 
torment hereafter, but, to the^ deep and abiding in- 
stincts of man's spiritual nature, need of God, 
desire after Him, the penetrat,ing sense of sin as 
separation from Him, and the necessity of moral 
renewal. It preached with Biblical fulness the 
love of God, the sufficiency of Christ, the might of 
the Divine Spirit. 

It spreiad with amazing rapidity through the 
United Stateis, and speedily passed to Ireland and 
to Scotland, where, as we have seen, the movement 
was deep and fruitful. 

Physical phenomena were discouraged. The 
nurture and confirmation of converts were care- 
fully attended to. The danger of reaction was re- 
duced to a minimum by prayer and watching. The 
new life was guided into channels of practical use- 
fulness. We ought most surely to rank this move- 
ment very high among revivals of religion; and 
we can not be mistaken in ascribing its success to 
its close adhesion to New Testament standards. 

5. The work of D. L. Moody. It would be im- 
pertinence to praise this great evangelist. He 
was great in his simplicity, directness, and force. 
He was without a college training, and was keenly 
aware of his educational deficiencies. Yet he held 
multitudes spellbound ; and he grappled toi himself 



CHUECHES OF REFORMATION 129 

ma^ny devoted frieinds ; and lie was used of God to 
lead countless numbers of individuals into a new 
life. The mutual esteem tliat existed between 
Moody and Drummond bas been alluded to. 
Drummond's estimate of Moody, given in an issue 
of ''McClure's Magazine," may bere be quoted: 
* ^ Simple a,s this man is, and biomely as are bis sur- 
roundings, probably America possesses at this 
moment no more ecstraordinary personage; not 
even among the most brilliant of her sons has any 
one rendered more stupendous or more' enduring 
service to bis country or bis time. . . . Whether 
estimated by the moral qualities which go to the 
making up of his personal character, or the ex- 
tent to which he has impressed these on whole 
communities of men on both sides of the Atlantic, 
there is, perhaps, noi more truly great man living 
thanD. L. Moody.'' 

(1) His message wa,s utterly diverse from that 
of the older evangelism of his country. Compare 
his sermons with those of Edwards. Note his 
emphasis on the love of Grod, as> contrasted with 
that of Edwards upon terror. Consider his con- 
stant appeal toi Scripture, not in proof of the 
articles of a system, but as the personal disclosure 
of God's heart, the living utterance of His abiding 
purpose to save the world through Jesus Christ. 
See how he entered— this unscholarly man— into 
the grace and truth contained in the words of 
Jesus and His apostles. Surely, here we have not 
a mere verbal reproduction of New Testament 

9 



130 NEY/ TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

eva,nge]ism, not a slavish repetitioii of its phrases, 
but a true embodimemt of it-s spirit, with absolute 
fidelity to its message, and a close conformity to 
its dealing with the souls of men. We listen to 
criticism of Moody's theology, and of his preach- 
ing, and of his methods. Yet we recall the man 
and his ministry, oir we study in a quiet hour his 
reported addresses, and the record of his work, 
with the deepening conviction that in this man 
the Redeemer found an instrument most, suited to 
His purpose^ and did, in point of fact, use him 
to proclaim the message of grace, first spoken by 
His own Divine Voice, and then echoed and re-- 
echoed down the ages. No man can preach as 
Moody preached; but, if we are to move modern 
society, we must preach what Moody preached, 
not lowering one whit the claiims of the Divine 
holiness, not evading — Moody never did — the ter- 
rible facts of sin's guilt and shame and dominion, 
but preaching, through all and above all, the ever- 
lasting love of Grod, commending itself in the 
death of Christ, saving men, through faith in the 
Eisen Saviour, from the wo^rst that sin can do, 
and bestowing upon them the best that grace can 
give, sonship toward God, the privilege of service, 
and a deepening fellowship with God and with all 
the children of God, which the incident, of death 
shall not avail to frustrate. Our modern pulpit— 
for so swiftly doeis the current rush, that already 
we are removed from Moody's time — needs to 
catch up the word that Moody uttered, and ring it 



CHURCHES OF REFOEMATION 131 

out in tKese new days, with new manne^r and new 
phrasing, no donbt, but with profound identity 
of significance. Weary of cleverness, sick of ne- 
gations, jaded with theories, the people of these 
days long as earnestly— why will the college man 
not recognize facts?— as ever did the multitudes 
that thronged the Hippodrome, or the\ Agricultu- 
ral Hall, or the Waverley Market), for the story of 
redeeming grace, and will, to-day, as much as ever, 
be bowed by its majesty, subdued by its tender- 
ness, and won by its immeasurable love. 

(2) His methods were not learned from books, 
but discovered and applied in the same instant of 
practical necessity. His plans for the winning 
of souls formed an ascending series. In the first 
place, he sought to prepare his hearers for the 
message. He used song, but he never made the 
preliminary part of his service a. mere entertain- 
ment. It meant/ 'Gospel'' every time. He relied 
much on prayer, and filled his halls with thei atr 
mosphere of it. He skilfully intervened with pun- 
gent remark, gradually fixing the mind upon cen- 
tral truths. In the second place, he made the ser- 
mon the vehicle of one idea^ finding proof of it 
in the length and breadth of Scripture, gathering 
round it illustration, chiefly from his. own con- 
stantly growing experience, and riveting it on the 
conscience of his hearers with unflinching direct- 
ness. It was the talk of a man, highly gifted no 
doubt, but without the artificiality which is too 
often bred of over-cultivation. It was straight, 



132 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

racy, terse, humorous, patlietic. There was no 
attempt at exegetical skill. He read his Bible as 
a living book, and told his hearers what was in it, 
not the literary or archaeological details, but the 
pith and moment of it. His treatment of it was 
like that of mediaeval artists, daringly incorrect 
in non-essentials, splendidly real in its truth. 

Once more let ns quote Drummond ; and let us 
indulge ourselves with a quotation from Moody 
himself, as a familiar, but never trite example of 
his marvelous gift in handling the Gospel narra- 
tive. ^^Were one asked what, on the human side, 
were the effective ingredients in Mr. Moody's ser- 
mons, one would find the answer difficult. Prob- 
ably the foremost is the tremendous conviction 
with which they are uttered. Next to that, come 
their point and direction. Every blow is straight 
from the shoulder, and every stroke tells. In 
sheer persuasiveness Mr. Moody has few equals, 
and, rugged as his preaching may seem to some, 
there are in it pathos of a, quality which few ora- 
tors have ever reached, and an appealing tender- 
ness which not only redeems but raises it, not un- 
seldom, almost to sublimity. Take this extract: 
I can imagine that when Christ said to the lit- 
tle band around Him, ^Go ye into all the world 
and preach the Gospel,' Peter said, *Lord, do you 
really mean that we are to go back to Jerusalem 
and preach the Gospel to those men that murdered 
Your *Yes,' said Christ, ^go hunt up that man 
that spat in My face ; tell him that he may have a 



CHURCHES OF EEFORMATION 133 

seat in My Kingdomj yet; Yes, Peter, go find that 
man that made that cruel crown of thorns and 
placed it on My broiw, and tell him I will have a 
crown ready for him when he comes into My 
Kingdom, and there will be noi thorns in it. Hnnt 
up that man thait took a reed and brought it down 
over the cruel thorns, driving them intoi My brow, 
and tell him I will put a scepter in his hand, and 
he shall rule over the nations of the earth, if he 
will accept salvation. Search for the man that 
drove the spear into My side, and tell him there 
is a nearer way to My heiart than that. Tell him 
I forgive him freely, and that he can be saved, if 
he will accept salvation as a gift.' " 

Yet in a sense, the sermon too^ was only pre- 
liminary. The climax lay in the dealing of soul 
with soul, when some one, experienced in the lore 
of the Gospel, sought to bring the truth home to 
the seeker. Here, indeed, if anywhere, criticism 
of Moody is in point. Not that he did not realize 
the extreme difficulty and delicacy of personal 
work, or ever countenanced mechanical treatment 
of that most complex and subtle thing, a human 
soul. He labored to prepare Christians for this 
rare and precious task. Yet his very success as 
an evangelist militated agaiust his success in this 
vital part of all the work of evangelism. The 
inquiry meeting that followed the vast ma,ss meet- 
ing wa,s not the best place for drawing a soul into 
near relations with the unseen but present Lord. 
There could be little choice of workers; and, 



134 NEW TESTAMENT' EVANGELISM 

with the best will in the world, persons sought to 
influence those between whom and themselves mu- 
tual misunderstandings were all but inevitable. 
Later evangelists have modified the after meeting, 
in the form in which it was common in Monody's 
time. But this is precisely what Moody himself 
would have wished. He never stereotyped his 
methods. It remjains true that Moody laid an 
emphasis on personal work, which can never be 
withdrawn. 

(3) The secret of Moody's power has been va- 
riously imagined; and attempts have beem made, 
not only to explain it, but to explain it away. The 
most familiar of these, and the most pseudo-scien- 
tific, is to attribute it to a hypnotic skill, which 
Moody is supposed to have possessed, by which 
he, as it were, juggled men into certain religious 
experiences. One would need to know a great deal 
more about the hypnotic gift than those who so 
freely invoke it as a cause have told us, more per- 
haps than they themselves know of it, to be sure 
whether it was really the key to Moody's success 
as an evangelist. Without entering into so ob- 
scure a region, the patent fact is that Moody 
knew exactly what he wanted to do. He desired 
to bring men face to face with Jesus Christ. That 
was all he could do. What happened as the result 
of that meeting, was not his or any man's to ef- 
fect. All that one man can do for another, to 
secure for him a full view of Christ as He is set 
forth ia the Gospel, in His character and His 



CHURCHES OF EEFOEMATION 135 

power to sa,ve, Moody sought to do. He bent all 
his energies, of head and heart, to give each sonl 
he came into personal contact with, as well as the 
crowds he addressed, an adequate opportunity of 
seeing and knoiwing Jesus Christ, and he did not 
disguise from them his conviction that,, on the 
issue of the spiritual contact between them and 
the Living Lord, their salvation depended. 

Less he could not have done to be true to his 
function as an evangelist. More he did not dare 
to do, realizing, as he did, that salvation is not 
a manufactured article, but a gift of Divine Grace. 
If Moody had sought to create an abnormal sub- 
jective state, in which the soul might act in the 
heat of unintelligent feeling, without realization 
of the issues involved, and without actual self- 
determination, he would have been playing with 
edged tools. 

There is no evidence that Moody thus sought 
to manipulate souls ; and to trace to such immoral 
trickerj^ the moral influence he exerted over indi- 
viduals and communities, is simply ridiculous. 
Moody was perfectly aware of the undoubted dan- 
gers of emotion, especially under conditions which 
make it contagious. Hence, he insisted upon the 
necessity of close individual dealing, both imme- 
diately, at the close of the mass meeting, if pos- 
sible, and afterwards at the hands of wise and 
loving Christian workers. 

The plain truth is that Moody had no power, 
and ** conceived of none," by which he could save 



136 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

himself or others. The power that undoubtedly 
did operate through him, finding in him a fit in- 
strument was: (i) that of the message; (ii) that 
of God, the ^^ all-knowing'^ and the ^ ^ all-loving, " 
present by His Word and Spirit. No other expla- 
nation is adequate to the effects produced. 

(4) One feature of New Testament evangelism 
was conspicuous in Moody's work, viz., the con- 
structive and educative aspect of it. Greiat. itin- 
erant as he was, he never was foolish enough to 
believe that the work of evanigelism closed, either 
with the mass meeting, or with the inquiry room. 
He strenuously insisted that evangelism included 
the effort to confirm faith and upbuild character. 
He impressed upon the stated office bearers of the 
Church, and upon all Christians, that evangelism 
was the first duty of their calling. He impressed 
also upon all whom he stirred to the ta,sk of evan- 
gelism, that it was not duly discharged in sporadic 
preaching. The soul quickened to new impulses 
had still to grow, and he held that development 
of life depended mainly on two conditions, viz., 
nurture and activity. He advocated, therefore, as 
partiS of succeissful evangelism, (i) close and intel- 
ligent study of the Bible!, (ii) abundant and care^ 
fully organized forms of Christian activity. To 
say that he turned aside from evangelism to edu- 
cation is a total misconception of his policy a,s an 
evangelist. The Moody Institute at Chicago, the 
schools at Mount Hermon, and the great North- 
field conferences, indicate no change of front or 



CHUBCHES OF REFORMATION 137 

base. These things had their motive and aim in 
evangelism, and it is beyond all question that they 
have been profoundly influential in augmenting 
the amount and increasing the value of the evan- 
gelistic work done in the United States, and in- 
deed through the English speaking world, during 
recent years. More broadly, also, Moody raised 
for the modern Church the whole problem of the 
training of men for the ministry of the Word. He 
had no a priori theories to advance. His demand 
was, first, for efficient workers, and second, for 
such a, course of training as would fit men for their 
vocation. It is false that he belittled scholarship 
or culture. It is true that he denied that they 
were ends in themselves ; and he did demand that, 
in their finest form, they should be wholly at the 
service of that evangelism, for which alone 
Churches and Divinity Schools exist. Difficult 
questions as to details of the curriculum do' arise, 
and seminaries will do well not toi rush into pro- 
fusion of ^^ options," and specious schemes of 
*^ clinical" operation. But Moody's demand for 
efficiency represents the deepest wisdom of our 
day. The ideal of New Testament evangelism 
must dominate all preparation for ministry in the 
Christian Church. 

In reviewing Moody's work, we are justified in 
saying that it put an end to the old type of re- 
vivalism, which had been so great a hindrance to 
evangelism. Not that unwise things are never 
done, or that there are not foolish, self-willed, and 



138 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

possibly even wicked meai, posing as evangelists 
and working havoc among soiiils. But Moody at 
once roused tlie conscience and enlightened the 
mind of the modern Church, throughout the Brit- 
ish Empire and the United States of America. 
He brought evangelism nearer to the New Testa- 
ment type than it had been since the Eef ormation ; 
and he bound it upon the Christian consciousness 
to rise, with prayer and toil, ever nearer that per- 
fect standard. 

Our glance over the history of the Church has 
been very brief and general; but it ha,s, surely, 
served to illustrate and confirm our main conten- 
tion that evangelism is the reviving of the Church, 
and that the quality of the revival depends on the 
nature of the evangelism. We are called, there- 
fore, in our day to a new consecration to the 
Churches first duty of evangelism; and it is re^ 
quired of us that we shall avoid the mistakes that 
are written large in history, and shall make the 
New Testament our standard and model. 



PART III 
EVANGELISM IN THE MODERN CHURCH 

From tlie New Testament,, accordingly, and from 
tJie records of the past, we gain (a) tlie law of 
life for tihe Cliurcli and the World, viz., revival 
and moral renewal depend on tlie Gospel of Christ 
which is the power of God unto salvation; (b) the 
promise to the faithful Church; viz., evangelism 
can not fail; revival will follow; (c) the warning 
against self-will, and against confusing between 
God's methods and man's. 

Out of the Word of God, caught^ up by the 
voices of His servants in every age of the 
Church's history, there comes to the modern 
Church the call to an evangelism which shall re- 
peat the message and reproduce the spirit of the 
Apostles of the Lord. 

This call is comiug aga.in to veterans who 
heard it long ago and answered it in a lifetimei of 
service, and to yo'ung soldiers, not long enlisted, 
who are arming for the conflict. It must be a 
dull ear that does not hear the thunder-roll, the 
clamor and the shouting. It must be a sluggish 
heart that does not instantly respond to the clar- 

189 



140 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ion call, cleaving the confusions of the strife— 
*'Go, preach the Gospel,'^ and is not pierced by 
the Voice that cries— ^^ Whom shall I send? Who 
will go for Me!" 

In seeking to obey the Call, we mnst avoid 
mere impulse. We must condense feeling, through 
thoughtful consideration, into reasoned resolution 
and ordered will. Let us seek, in the remainder of 
OTir space, to- set before our minds the task that 
awaits the man who seeks to ^^do the work of an 
evangelist'' in a modem Church, standing in the 
line of the evangelical succession. 



CHAPTEE I 

THE POWER 

It is useless to discuss instrumeiiits or foreicast 
results, if there be no power to wield the former 
and produce the latter. It is presupposed, in all 
we study of this subject, that the power in ques- 
tion is not mau's, but God's. 

I. The Need of Power. It is beyond all doubt 
that our most urgent need is Divine power. 

The most cursory reiview of the situation 
which confronts the modem; Church, confirms this 
reflection. It is beyond question that the Church 
as an institution is regarded, by multitudeis of peo- 
ple, with feelings, ranging from utter indifference, 
through suspicion, to absolute dislike, and even 
bitter animosity. In the nature of the case, the 
Church, considered in herself, has ceased to exert 
any moral influence upon those who stand in this 
attitude towards her. In the early seventies, 
Beecher calculated that two^ thirds of the popula- 
tion of North America seldomi entered any of the 
Churcheis. 

The case is, probably, not so bad anywhere to- 
day in the English speaking world; least of all 

141 



142 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

in Canada. Yet, even in Canada, there a.re strong 
inflnences at work creating a drift away from the 
Chnrcli Some of tliese are intellectnal, such as, 
an agnostic attitude toward spiritnal realities, or 
even definite rejection of the Christian view of 
God and the world. The notion of authority, as 
attaching to the Church and the Bible in any sense 
whatever, has, of course, no place in the minds 
of those who take this position, and has, indeed, 
practically died out of the modern mind. To in- 
sist on it, therefore, as a prelude to the statement 
of Christian truth is inept. In any case, the soul 
of man ought to bow to no authority, save that of 
the truth itself. Probably, however, the mightiest 
and most perva,sive influences, alienating men 
from the Church, are social in their character. At 
one end of the social scalei therei is an increa,sing 
demand for pleasure, for the instrument,s of 
amusement, and for the wealth that puts these 
within reach. The time, money, and energy ex- 
pended upon recreation are vastly in excess of 
anything hitherto known. Not only are the very 
wealthy reproducing the extravagance's of deca- 
dent ages in the past,, but multitudes of far more 
moderate means are pursuing the same path of 
self-indulgence. It is obvious that lives domi- 
nated by such conceptions, have noi room for lofty 
ideals of self -forgetful activities. The Church 
will be repellant to such persons, in proportion as 
it faithfully proclaims the conditions of Christian 
discipleship. At the opposite end of the social 



THE POWER 143 

scale there is an increasing demand for improve- 
ment in tlie material conditions of well-being^ and 
for a larger share in the wealth of the world, on 
the part of those who hear the burden of the phys- 
ical labor which prodnces it. Rightly or wrongly, 
multitudes of such toilers regard those who ad- 
minister the capital, which is indispensable, as 
their natural enemies, who have availed them- 
selves of unjust laws, and inequitable commercial 
arrangements, to defraud the working man of his 
rights. Rightly or wrongly, working men, seeing 
that the Church retains capitalists and employers 
in itiS ranks, and accepts financial support from 
them, regard it aiS the ally of an oppreissive sys- 
tem, and decline to co-operate in its activities. 
The men who take this position are not necessarily 
anti-Christian; but they are wholly anti-Church. 
This loss of prestige on the part of an institution 
which claims to represent the Son of Man is the 
most terrible disaster that could befall the Church 
of Christ. The modern Church ought to ponder 
deeply a fact so serious as this, and should bev- 
think itself how it may meet a situation fraught 
with such possibilities of defeat and ruin. 

One element in the case can not be missed, even 
by the most careless observer. Canada is, to use 
Zangwiirs phrase, a ** melting pot." Into this is 
being flung, year by year, an increa,sing number 
of people of other races than our own and of very 
diverse culture and religion. None of these peo- 
ple have any native attachment to the Church as 



144 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

they find it in any of its forms in Canada^ Some 
of them endeavor to reproduce the religions and 
institutions to which they have been accustomed. 
Some have recoiled bitterly from the Churches 
which have oppressed them in other lands, and 
they can not readily believe that analogous insti- 
tutions in this land can be really friendly. How 
is the Canadian Church to win such people to the 
Gospel? Here is a task urgent, imperative, and 
full of problems. The Church must betake itself 
to its duty, with instant application to the only 
source of wisdom and strength. Closer analysis 
would only confirm the conclusion that the su- 
preme need of the Church is a power which is 
not resident in herself. Le Bon, in his brilliant 
study of ^*tihe Crowd" has pointed out the impo- 
tence of (a) institutions, (b) education, to elevate 
society. He has proved his case, and indeed, the 
thing is evident. Nothing from without can really 
cure our social ills, not even the Church as an in- 
stitution. Divine power is wanted to operate 
upon and within the body politic. Unless, there- 
fore, the Church^ will go to her task, a,s the in- 
strument of that power, she need not go at all. 

* ' Wanted is— what ? ' ' Ampler resources, more 
workers, wiser methods? Assuredly. But this 
first and supremely, the power of God. As in jus- 
tification, so in evangelism, the faith that saves is 
the faith that casts us upon God. 

Self-examination on the part of the Church 
herself, directed to a consideration of her own in- 



THE POWER 145 

ward condition, presents the same need of power 
in another aspect. Is the Church strong and vig- 
orous, joyous and triumphant! Is family religion 
pure and high? Are Christian liberality and 
Christian service commensurate with the Chris- 
tian's indebtedness to his Lord. Are members 
of the Church living in the practice of righteous- 
ness and holiness f Are they growing in the grace 
and knowledge of Jesus Christ! What impression 
are they producing upon the minds of those who 
make no profession of religion! What influence 
are they having on society! Is the conscience of 
the Church alert, keen, and active! Are not min- 
isters and others who are in a position to esti- 
mate the vitality of the Church conscious of a 
^ ^ sag, ' ' rather than of a strong and steady upward 
movement! 

When we consider the unattained heights of 
Christian experience, the unattempted tasks of 
Christian service, the realms of moral action un- 
subdued to the high demands of our God, we need 
not argue further that the Church needs quicken- 
ing on her own part, a revival of the Divine life 
in her, before she can be used in the great task of 
evangelism. 

A close observer and life-long worker suggests 
the following illustration: the chiurch is like a 
sick and even dying man. He is, at any rate, 
wholly unfit to do the work committed to him. 
What treatment will be effective to give him 
health and vigor! ''Put him in a finer house, 

10 



146 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

more beautiful in adorumenit, more dignified in 
service." This is the remedy of Eitualism. ^'Give 
him a higher culture with larger access to the 
thoughts of the wise. ' ' This is the suggestion of 
Broad Churchism. ^^ Apply stimulant,s to him; 
give him shocks." This is the loudly advertised 
prescription of Eevivalism'. Wiser counsels go 
to the great storehouse of Divine wisdom, and 
read therein '^not by might, nor by power, but by 
My Spirit." 

II. The Promise of Power. This is the rem- 
edy—God, God in Christ, God present by His 
Spirit. 

It would be thankless and unbelieving to ig- 
more what God ha^s done in recent years for His 
Church. There are many tokens of the Divine re- 
membrance. New enterprises have been under- 
taken and have been largely successful. A new 
sense of responsibility for the evangelization of 
the world, at home and abroad, has been awak- 
ened. Great gifts have been bestowed in the per- 
sons of consecrated men and women to lead the 
Church in her activities. All this, and more be- 
sides, is true. Yet the need remains. Divine 
power is wanted and ha,s been promised. The 
Church must goi in entreaty and may go in faith 
to the fontai source of life and victory. 

The qualities of the power th.us required and 
available may be discerned as we approiach Him 
who bestows it. (a) It is personal. The Holy 
Spirit is God present in power. Wherever re- 



THE POWER. 147 

demptive power is exerted, we are not witnessing 
the operation of a blind cosmic force, but the ac- 
tivity of that Grod who, in Christ,, reconciled the 
world to Himself, and designs and seeks the salva- 
tion of every soul in it. A conscious purpose is 
being manifested, a living voice is heard. The 
Spirit, whose power animates the Church, a,s well 
as every believing soul, is the Spirit of the Father, 
who is the Source, and the Spirit of the Son, who 
is the Mediator of the great salvation. Evangel- 
ism operates with personal forceis, not' with such 
as are magical, capricious, and unreliable. The 
power which we see at work in the ministry of 
the word, is the same which we have seen in the 
historic Christ. We know not all the reach of its 
operation. But, we know Him whose energy it is. 
We are not, therefore, to sit vaguely wondering 
when *^it'' will strike us, and set up a movement 
which we shall call revival. We are to go, where 
we went for forgiveness, to Christ Himself, and 
as we renew our act of faith, with dsepening con- 
secration, there will be given to us the Holy Spirit 
of God, and in t,hat gift we shall have the Father 
and the Son. G-od Himself, Father, Son, and 
Spirit is the power of evangelism, (b) It is 
active. God, who did so much in Christ, has not 
retired from the work of salvation. What, in one 
aspect, wa,s consummated on the Cross, is, in an- 
other, being carried on continuously. In both as- 
pects, the power is that of the present ever-acting 
Gold. Let us not lose ourselves in abstractions, 



148 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

or go back to Neoplatonic ideas of God afar off, 
moving the world by potencies and other empty 
names. In evangelism, God is working directly. 
He is bringing His own living personal energy to 
bear on beings made in His own image. The ac- 
tion of God did not cease when He raised His Son 
from the grave. It is continued in the preaching 
of His Word. Let ns hmnble ourselves in pres- 
ence of this Divine reality. What is happening 
where the Gospel is preached? Is it a man, by 
dint of intellectual force or some magnetic gift, 
doing certain things? If that were all, not one 
soul had ever been won for Christ. What happens 
is that God, through the foolishness of preaching, 
does Himself, in His own gracious action, with 
His everlasting love and Hisi infinite wisdom, all 
that Omnipotence can to save a human soul. The 
Gospel is the power of God. What Christ was on 
earth. His Gospel is now, not a word about God, 
but the Word of God, not a suggestion of His 
presence, but His very presence, God manifest, 
God seeking, God saving, (c) It is sufficient. 
When we have said that the power is of God, and 
is God, we have said all. Nothing in the realm 
of spiritual possibilities lies outside the action 
of God through the Gospel. Eeconciliation has 
been effected, and across the barriers of guilt 
and pride, lowered by the constraint of the love 
of Christ, there is the influx of the forces that 
remake man, and re-erect him in the image of 
SGod, and perfect all that concemeth him. Christ 



THE POWER 149 

is the perfectioTi of humanity, as well as the in- 
carnation of God; and the Spirit is the Spirit of 
Christ, building up a new creation that shall ex- 
press the mind of God regarding man. There 
is nothing too hard for the Lord, not even the 
making of a new earth. 

To us, in Canada^ with our Titanic tasks and 
our realized weakness, comes the old prophetic 
word: ^^Fear not, Land; be glad and rejoice; 
for the Lord will do great things. ... I will 
pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and it shall 
come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name 
of the Lord shall be saved," Joel 2 : 21, 28, 32. 

III. The Operation of the Power, The Spirit, 
our Lord teaches us, is like the night wind, that 
sighs along the hill side, and disturbs the olive 
leaves, with unexpected movements, and the heart, 
with strange awe, as at the presence of an unseen 
visitant. It can not be created by human effort, 
can not be commanded by human will, and is not 
to be measured or controlled by human wisdom. 
Yet it is not unrelated to human nature, and it 
is not undetermined by the conditions it finds 
therein. The power is God ; and God's relation to 
His world is not that of mere transcendence. He, 
who made the world, acts through the constitu- 
tion which He Himself has framed, and knows to 
its depths. 

1. The operation of His power is conditioned 
by prayer. It is true that the power is not man's, 
that man is only God's instrument. But the in- 



150 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

strnment is not dead metal or wood. God's in- 
stiaiment is the humaii spirit ; and that is fitted to 
His hand by prayer. In prayer, there are wrought 
out in man those qualities which make it possible 
for God to work by means of him— sympathy with 
the Divine purpose, a view at once large and 
penetrating of God's ways of working, deep com- 
passion for human souls, and firm confidence in 
the sufficiency of God's grace. A prayerless evan- 
gelist is useless for the Divine needs of salvation. 
It is true also, that even the most earnest evangel- 
ist can not, by taking thought, produce a work of 
God, that the result is not of human effort, but 
of God's free grace. Yet, in the strange unity of 
being, by which men are bound together by ties of 
mutual dependence, prayer is the preparation, not 
of the evangelist merely, but of the field of his 
activity. Called to evangelism, the Church is also 
called to a ministry of intercessory prayer. This 
is apt to be forgotten, even in a Church which has 
been roused to a sense of its evangelistic function. 
Let it be well understood that to attempt the work 
of evangelism without prayer is to ensure humil- 
iating defeat, however much time and money have 
been spent on preparation of a different kind. 

2. The power of God is exerted by means of 
the ministry of the Word. The Word of God is 
the Gospel, and the Gospel is contained in the 
Bible. An evangelism, which God is to use and 
honor, must be loyal to God's Word, as it speaks 
through the Scriptures. 



THE POWER 151 

The evangelism of the past was defectivei, not 
because it was Biblical, but beca,use it was not 
Biblical enough. The modeirn Church is called 
upon first of all to enter more fully into the mean- 
ing and scope of the Divine Word, as these are 
set forth in the Bible, and then to make skilled 
use of the Bible, in applying the Gospel of redemp- 
tion to the manifold need of man. An evangelist, 
poorly equipped in^ Bible knowledge, who goes 
into his business on no' greater stock than a few 
ideas of his own, and a nuimber of illustrations, 
more or less apocryphal, may create a sensation 
for a time, but will ga,in no other fruit than a little 
transient popularity. 

By using the Bible for the central purpose for 
which God has given it to His Church,, many per- 
plexing questions regarding it. will either be 
solved, or will be deprived of their paralyzing 
power. A Church which is faithful to* the miais- 
try of the Word need not turn aside to discuss 
the iQspiration of the Bible. Let the Bible be 
used deeply, fully, wisely, in the great enterprise 
of the Gospel. Its inspiration will vindicate it- 
self ; and will not need ill-tempered pamphlets to 
defend it. 

A Biblical evangelism' is the best apologetic 
for the Bible and for Christianity. When the 
Word of God is used in conjunction with the 
weapon of ''all-prayer,'' it proves itself to be the 
Sword of the Spirit. For it there can be no sub- 
stitute. 



152 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

3. Divine poiwrer is direct m its action on the 
human spirit. Here we enter the region of ulti- 
mate mystery, the meeting of spirit with spirit. 
The history of the nniverse, since God spread the 
ether through space, has been one long approach 
of God to a being made by Him with this very 
end in view, that between these two there should 
be perfect accord, God freely imparting Himself 
to man, and man dwelling deep in God. When 
this takes place, man is saved and God is glori- 
fied. What then saves a man? Is it the Bible, 
instruction, warning, appeal, providences, means 
of grace, preaching, uplifting song, moving 
prayer, the crowded assembly, the individual in- 
terview? All these, no doubt, are instrumental, 
and some are divinely ordained ; but they are not 
even in their largest eixercise efficient or sufficient. 

The only sa.ving power is God Himself. He, 
whom we adore in Christ, stands before the sanc- 
tuary of the human spirit., with the same power 
and the same purpose that brought creation into 
being, and sent into it the only-begotten Son. Yet 
even at this supreme moment God does not act 
as bare power. He will not violate anything He 
has made, least of all the thing likest Himself, 
the soul of man. He will not break through to 
the human spirit, which is accessible only to one 
influence. The only constraint which can be put 
upon the human spirit^ without dishonoring or in- 
juring it, is that of love. It need not be said that 
terror of the Divine judgments, f eiar of the wrath 



THE POWEE 153 

of God, if separated from the revelation of God, 
as being in His very essence Love^ distort the soul, 
and deface the Divine image in man. The con- 
straint of the love of Christ, which dethrones self, 
at the same time invests the hnman spirit with its 
lost freedom. The sonl, which God subdues to 
Himself, makes in the process of the Divine deal- 
ing a willing surrender. The result is vital union, 
not an enforced prostration of man before God, 
nor the metaphysical absorption (whatever that 
may be) of the human spirit in the Divine, but a 
personal fellowship which, in its most mysterious 
intimacy and deepest mutual indwelling, pre- 
serves and completes the integrity of human na- 
ture. Then God uses the soul, which He has won, 
as a vantage ground from which He may move 
in the pursuit of His saving purpose towards 
others, employing the relations of man tO' man, 
in the wonderful organic unity of the ra,ce, as the 
channel of His own approach. And so, by living 
influences, the consummation is prepared, when 
mankiQd shall be one in Christ., and God shall be 
all in all. 



CHAPTER II 

The Spheees of Evangelism 
Sectio:^- I 

THE HOME 

GrOD works out His saving purpose along tlie lines 
of human nature. The Home is the plaoe where 
the long process of the making of man is origi- 
nated. Here the Divine power, which is to con- 
quer sin and undo its effects, begins its gracious 
operation. A wise evangelism, therefore, which 
seeks to follow God's ways with man, and to avail 
itself of God's power over man, will not neiglect 
the home, but will make it the starting point in 
the great campaign which] is to win the world for 
Christ. 

Such wisdom did the evangelists of the New 
Testament possess. Their successoTs have not 
always acted in their spirit. Two contrasted, yet 
cognate-, errors have been committed. Sometimeis 
the child's religious development has been forced. 
The child soul has been treated a,s though it were 
adult. The same appeals have been m^ade to it 
that are made to the man grown old in sin. The 
same type of conversion experience is made the 

154 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 155 

standard for tlie child as for the grown-up person. 
** Father and son,'' by Edmund Gosse, tells the 
story of this kind of mistake and of its results. 
Probably there are not so many fathers so blind to 
the laws of human nature as the elder Gossei, who 
was, oddly enough, an expert zoologist. Yet par- 
ents and friends who sincerely desire the salvation 
of the childreni often commit analogous mistakes, 
and do profound injury to those whom they most 
desire to help. More often the religious develop- 
ment of the child is neglected altogether. The be- 
ginning of religion is postponed to a date, unde- 
termined, when the young person shall have in- 
tellectual capacity to understand doctrines, and 
make a profession of faith, or, at least, ^^join the 
Church." This error, it is to be feared, is wide- 
spread. It is supported by indolence on the part 
of parents, and by their own low type of religious 
experience. If religion is not a joy and strength 
to them, if they feel it to be a burden and re- 
straint, they will, naturally, be unwilling to hasten 
the day when the yoke will be fastened on the neck 
of their children. 

The difficulty is that while the parent is thus, 
as it were, defending the child from religion, 
moral habits are forming and character is grow- 
ing toward fixity, till, at the very time when the 
parent may sincerely desire that religious in- 
fluences should reach the young soul, it may have 
become impervious toi them. The truth is there is 
scarce a stage so early, when the person of Jesus 



156 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

may not be presented to the child mind, and the 
child soul may not go out to the Lover of little 
children in a love and trust that are of the very 
essence of the Christian faith, and form the be- 
ginning of a great and deepening knowledge of 
God in Christ. 

Psychologists have much to say about the 
mental growth of children ; and parents may well 
study the subject of childhood and adolescence 
under scientific guidance. Apart from this, the 
lore, that love teaches, will lead them in certa.in 
obvious lines of action. 

At first, it will be the parent's delightful task 
to tell the story of Jesus, so simply, clearly, and 
sympathetically, that it will appeal to the imag- 
ination—that faculty never more ready and plas- 
tic than in childhood— and lodge in the memory, 
and take root in the heart, as the formative in- 
fluence of the character that is in process of 
growth. Later, the parent will find it expedient 
to teach his children certain principles of action, 
and to set before them ideals of character, and to 
do so, not abstractly, but concretely, as they 
centre in and radiate from the person of Jesus, 
whom the manliest boy, as well as the gentlest 
maiden, might be proud to follow as Hero and 
Leader, with absolute devotion, and unswerving 
loyalty. Christianity is Christ. The boy who 
thus gives himself to Christ, even though he know 
nothing of adult experiences, is father of the man 
who will manifest a deepening apprehension of 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 157 

the salvation he finds in the person and wiork of 
his Redeemer. 

The last stage of the adolescent period is the 
most difficult of all, aad will require all the par- 
ent's practical wisdom, and make large demands 
upon their faith and patience. The young soul 
is in the throes of awakening self -consciousness. 
It is in the grip of forces, inoperative hitherto, 
whose action perplexes, disturbs, and a,ffronts the 
spirit. The world widens to the view, with beck- 
oning of pleasure, surge of passion, and promise 
of gratified ambition. The soul is overweeningly 
self-confident; and yet is beset by vague alarms, 
and subject to fits of unreasoning despondency. 
What is wanted is a, decision which shall steady 
the turbulent impulscis, give direction to irresolute 
action, and harmonize the whole nature under one 
gracious and holy dominion. This is sometimes 
spoken of as the special era of ^ ' conversion, ' ' and 
elaborate books have been written, detailing and 
classifying the symptoms. If, however, we hold 
** conversion'' to its New Testament significance, 
and mean by it the acceptance of Christ as Lord, 
two points are plain: (i) conversion may take 
place at any stage, and imder a wise parental 
evangelism will normally take place very early 
in the history of the child's soul; (ii) those who 
have come to Christ at earlier stages have still 
to pass through the third period just described. 
Ordinarily, if the previous guidance has been 
wise, there will be less storm and stress than if 



158 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ihe soul enters upon tKe period of conflict un- 
prepa-red by trust in the Saviour. Yet it may 
be otlierwise, and t,he experience may be a, very 
agony of battle with] doubt and sin, before the 
victory of faith is won. What ought, to be insisted 
on, however, is that this stage and these dis- 
tresses do not mean that the former stage's and 
their joyful and confident relations to> Christ were 
unreal. The fact of conflict and decision taMng 
place at this stage does not warrant us limiting 
^^ conversion'* to it, or postponing till then prayer 
and effort for the conversion of the young. ^ ^ Con- 
firmation *' is not a ^^ sacrament'' in the New Tes- 
tament usage of the term ; and it may, or may not, 
be wise tO' express it in formal rite or ceremony. 
But it ought to be part of the normal development 
of a soul. The faith that at one time was natural 
as breathing, and bright as sunshine, has to be 
fought for in an. experience which may somen 
times be hard and bitter, and can never be the 
worse for being strenuous. The soul emerges out 
of such a time ^^ confirmed" in faith, by a clear 
vision of alternatives and a conscious act) of will. 
In passing through such a period, the soul 
must be solitary. This does not mean, however, 
that the parents have no part or lot in it. In the 
spirit of the Eedeemer of men, they must bear 
the griefs and carry the sorrows of their children, 
and enter with vicarious suffering into a pain that 
is theirs, because it is the anguish of those whom 
they love better than themselves^. Out of such 



THE SPHERES OF EVANaELISM 159 

sympatJiy will be born belpful words and deeds. 
Tlie sympatliy itself is the greatest service the 
parent can render. 

In all sncb action on behalf of children and 
young people, we have not passed beyond the 
circle of the home, or invoked any other influence 
than that of the parents. Pastors and teachers 
have their duty toward the children. Nothing 
that they can and ought to do, however, lessens 
the obligations of the parents. They are the 
evangelists of the home. They have received 
this office by Divine appointment, and to God they 
must give an account of their fulfilment of it. It 
is to be feared that many parents have taken the 
Church's care of the children as a permission to 
them to neglect the duty of winning their children 
for Christ. No such careless excuse will avail 
to answer the searching question: ^^ Where is the 
flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock!" 

But in truth, what parent who knows anything 
of the Gospel of Divine Love would wish to be 
relieved of a task so lovely, to be denied a privi- 
lege so gracious? How sweet to tell the little ones 
the story of their Lover and Friend! How good 
to win the boy's shy confidence, and enroll him in 
the Boy's Brigade of the great army of the King ! 
How solemn to be allowed to accompany sons or 
daughters through the hour of spiritual darkness, 
helping them by counsel or by prayer till they 
pass into light and liberty. It is to be remem- 
bered, moreover, that this obligation cannot be 



160 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

merely evaded or refused. Parents are so related 
to tlieir children that they cannot help exerting 
a profound influence upon their children's spir- 
itual history. If they are not helping their chil- 
dren's progress, they are hindering it. What 
chance has the child's soul, born and growing up 
in a home profeissedly Christian, yet entirely 
worldly, where neither father nor mother care 
enough for Christ to direct their children to Him I 
There is no need in the Modern Church more 
pressing than a revival of family religion, a re- 
newal on the part of the parents of the sense of 
obligation for their children's knowledge of 
Christ Here, also, the distinction between evan- 
gelism and revival holds good. The birth of a soul 
into the Kingdom cannot be effected by the will of 
man. Parents; are not directly responsible for the 
conversion of their children ; but they are respon- 
sible for the evangelism of the home; and they are 
required, by the very fact of parenthood, to make 
the Gospel of God's grace in Christ known to the 
children from the very dawn of intelligence. In 
the Divine economy, this is the task of the parent. 
When it is discharged with faithfulneiss, and 
prayerful appeal for Divine power, there is strong 
reason to believe that the issue will be the free 
surrender of the child to the love of Christ^ With 
this blessed end in view, the parent will work and 
pray. Yet the end itself belongs to a region 
where the parent cannot enter, where God and 
the soul meet in a secrecy which even the most 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 161 

ardent hmnan love dare not violate. Till that end 
be won, even though the time be long, fathers and 
mothers have their appointed task, which by their 
fealty to Christ, and by their love of their chil- 
dren, they are bound to discharge. Necessity is 
laid upon them. Yea, woe is unto them if they 
preach not the Grospel to their children. Let them 
do this ; and with God be the rest ! 

Sectioit II 

THE CONGREGATION 

1. Evangelism the Minister's Own Proper 
Work, It cannot be said too emphatically that 
the Pastor is the divinely appointed evangelist 
of his own congregation. He cannot relieve him- 
self of his responsibilities on any consideration 
whatever. His primary duty is evangelism, 
within the sphere in which he has been placed as 
Minister of the Word. There is, indeed, room 
and need for evangelism on a wider scale. Men, 
like Moody, have been raised up to do great work 
in the winning of souls. 

Nothing, however, which such men can do can 
take the place of that evangelism of the congre- 
gation which devolves upon its Pastor; and the 
work of the most efficient itinerant evangelist 
will depend for its success chiefly under God, upon 
the faithful evangelism carried on by ministers 
in their respective parishes. To contrast the work 
of such a man as Wilbur Chapman and that of 

11 



162 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tlie pastor of a congregation, as though the for- 
mer were and the latter were not evangelistic 
in quality, is a great mistake-. Both men are 
evangelists. They differ in their spheres and 
methods; but not at all m the function of evan- 
gelism, which belongs to both. The itinerant 
evangelist, who knows the conditions of his own 
success, relies upon the skill and faithfulness of 
pastoral evangelism. The minister who seeks the 
highest gO'od of his congregation, will himself 
*'do the work of an evangelist^' in it. He will 
not leave that work undone till a ^'professional'' 
evangelist arrives to do it; and he will give no 
countenance to the idea that he ' ' does not believe 
in evangelism" and ''does not approve of evan- 
gelistic work." Ministers ought toi do the work 
of evangelism in their own congregations as 
faithfully and efficiently as though no other evan- 
gelistic agency were ever to be employed. When 
an itinerant evangelist of proved wisdom and 
zeal does visit the region where they labor, they 
will be able toi avail themselves of services which 
will be no detriment to their own work, but will 
rather add to its effectiveness. Whether such 
special occasion arise or not, their duty is clear. 
Evangelism is their function. They must fulfil 
it, whatever help may come to them from others. 
Many sincere and devout ministers who ear- 
nestly believe in evangelism, doubt their posses- 
sion of the evangelistic gift, and defer evangel- 
istic work in their parishes till they can secure 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 163 

the assistance of some one whom they regard 
as more competent than themselves. But they 
ought to ask themselves two questions: 

Must evangelism, i, e.y detinite soul-winning 
work, wait till assistance be secured! And, is it 
certain that they do not possess the evangelistic 
gift! If it is certain— as surely it is— that God 
appoints to them the duty of evangelism, it is 
also certain that He will not withhold the needed 
gift. It has often happened that a minister who^ 
with many misgivings, has addressed himself to 
the task of evangelism, has discovered to his own 
wonder, and perhaps to that of his own congre- 
gation and that of his brother ministers, that he 
did possess the needed gift, or rather that God 
was willing to use such meagre gifts as he had, 
to do a work that was marvellous in his eyes. 
The first thing is obedience. With that, power 
will come. 

2. The Minister's Preparation for Evangelism. 
In preparing himself for his work as an evan- 
gelist, the minister will use all the helps to which 
he has access. He will acquaint himself with the 
social, moral, and religious condition of the popu- 
lation in his own and other lands, till he begins 
to know definitely, and feel profoundly, what 
man's need is. Such broader studies will help him 
to preach to the man in his own street. He will 
not neglect works of a more seemingly recondite 
kind, and from masters in physiology and psy- 
chology, and kindred sciences, he will learn what 



164 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

they ha,ve to tell of tlie intricacies and complexi- 
ties of human nature. He will read the lives of 
leading evangelists, and carefully ponder the ele- 
ments of their power; and, in a wider range of 
study, he will note the progress of evangelism 
throughout the world. Thus the nature of his- 
toric Christianity will become clearer to him, and 
its power as the revelation of God will become 
more manifest. Above all, the Bible will be his 
library. He will read therein, not discursively 
or pedantically, but systematically, with the defi- 
nite purpose of learning the message he has to 
proclaim, and the duties required of him as a 
messenger of God. He need not be afraid lest such 
concentration of thought and unification of in- 
terest will narrow his culture, or render him less 
learned than he had aspired to be. It is true that 
God often uses ignorant, or at least unlettered, 
men to do great work. But it is not true that He 
puts any premium upon ignorance or narrow- 
mindedness. The ripest scholarship, the widest 
knowledge, the most trained intelligence, are not 
too good for the work of evangelism. The man 
who secretly hopes to escape the severe intel- 
lectual discipline of the study, by a noisy and 
desultory evangelism, is making a great mistake. 
His mental poverty will soon be on a par with 
his spiritual unfitness, and both together will de- 
stroy his usefulness. 

The man, in like manner, who proudly with- 
draws from evangelism, and in the seclusion of 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 165 

his study devotes himself to ripening his scholar- 
ship, and perfecting his eloquence, is going astray 
not less disastrously, and is bringing upon him- 
self the doom of spiritual barrenness. To con- 
trast an *' educated" with an ^'evangelistic" min- 
istry is a grievous error. The most educated will 
make the most effective evangelistic ministr^^ 
The modern Church must set before her ministers 
the primary duty of evangelism, but in doing so 
she dare not lower the standard of culture. For 
the sake of evangelism itself, she must require 
of her preachers the highest intellectual discipline 
of which they are capable. 

The deepest and most important part of the 
minister's preparation for evangelism, however, 
must lie in the exercises of his own inner life. 

His study of his own heart will not be less 
stringent than that which he devotes to the men 
around him ; and his judgment upon his own sins 
will not be less severe than his estimate of those 
of others. In his conscious guilt as a sinner, he 
will verify to himself afresh the truth of the Gos- 
pel which he is to proclaim. He will set the seal 
of his own faith to the declaration of the Divine 
mercy. He will take his stand at the Cross, 
whereon was purchased his own redemption, and 
will survey thence the world for which Christ died. 
He will go to his own people, and to all the souls 
he can reach, with the message he has proved 
in his own experience. He will so live the Chris- 
tian life, the inner life of prayer and dependence 



166 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

on the Divine Spirit, as well as the outer life of 
conduct, that his evangelism shall not be af- 
fronted by his character, nor his teaching be con- 
tradicted by his behaviour. 

This inward preparation must be solitary; 
but it ought to be supplemented by fellowship. 
In addition to Conferences, on a larger scale, 
there ought to be smaller meetings, in which those 
who have a common aim, and mutual sympathies, 
may confide to one another their confessions and 
aspirations, and take prayerful counsel together 
regarding their life work. The revival of the 
Church includes that of the ministers, and, indeed, 
must begin with them. 

3. Pastoral Evangelism, The primacy of 
evangelism does not mean that the minister who 
realizes his obligation shall forthwith proceed to 
add new machinery to that which he already has 
in operation. It may happen that his deepened 
sense of duty will suggest new lines of action. 
But it is a mistake to suppose that evangelistic 
work lies outside the range of ordinary pastoral 
work. What is wanted in most congregations is 
not that the pastor do something more, or other, 
than he has been doing, but that he realize, as per- 
haps he has never yet done, that his primary work 
is that of an evangelist. His own dominant aim 
must be to win men for Christ. His ordinary 
duties, those routine tasks whose monotony often 
oppresses him, are to be brought under this su- 
preme control. Through each and all of them, 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 167 

he is to be doing the woirk of an evangelist. His 
methods are probably wise and good. What he 
needs is, perhaps, a new sense of the end in view, 
which is not to keep the machinery running, bnt 
to secure that to every soul in the parish there 
be brought a clear and full proclamation of the 
Gospel, and an adequate oppoTtunity of coming 
face to face with Christ in His grace aud in His 
claim. The minister's constant temptation is to 
professionalism. He must oppose to it a strong 
sense of his responsibility for each individual 
soul, not (let us repeat) for its conversion, but 
for its evangelization. Illustrations of how 
ordinary and well known methods lend them- 
selves to efficient evangelism readily suggest 
themselves.. 

(1) The Work of Visitation. Every minister 
knows that this, may be the most profitable part 
of his pastoral duty; and every minister has to 
lament countless unprofitable visits, when scarcely 
an attempt was made at his proper work. Tbe; 
work of visitation can never be stereotyped. The 
minister's heart must be very sensitive, and his 
mind must be continually on the alert, if in any 
worthy mariner he is to redeem his opportunity. 
Three things, howeveir, he must keep steiadily in 
view — (a) To encourage and help parents in 
that evangelism of the home, which is their special 
duty and privilege, (b) To reach the children 
directly, not repelling them by unnatural solem- 
nity, and yet very distinctly leading them to Jeisus. 



168 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

(c) To win young men to allegiance to the Son 
of Man. Every true minister knows that in this 
last point lies his greatest happiness, as well as 
his most difficult task. He will lay the basis in 
sincere and unaffected friendliness. He^ will find 
his power in genuine and many-sided sympathy. 
He will pursue his aim through the ordinary in- 
tercourse of frank comradeship — if he is himself 
a young man— or through such relations as can 
be cultivated between an older and a younger man. 
He must seek to win the young man for himself, 
to have him and hold him as a friend. Yet 
through all his intercourse there must run the 
clear witness for Christ. The young man must be 
under no mistake as to what his friend regards 
as the highest life. The minister may not often 
speak directly of Christ. But he must witness 
for Christ, even when he is not, in words, preach- 
ing Christ. And there can not fail to be times 
when the minister will get his chance. Grod help 
him in such an hour to be wise, tactful, sympa- 
thetic, faithful! 

This is the most sacred experience in the min- 
ister's life as an evangelist. So to present Christ 
that a young man shall be caught by His loveli- 
ness and subdued by His majesty— this is the min- 
ister's highest vocation, his crowning joy. 

(2) The Depairtment of Education. The New 
Testament, a,s we saw, regards teaching a,s a part 
of evangelism. Education, accordingly, must be 
part of the minister's work as an evangelist. His 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 169 

diredi action will lie mainly in two* lines, (a) The 
Sunday school is a great opportunity for evangel- 
ism. Probably the most effective work which a 
minister can do for his Sunday school will be in 
connection with the traiaing of his teachers and 
officers. He may not be able to give t,echnical 
training in pedagogy; but it will be his duty to 
set before the teachers the evangelistic aim of the 
work, and to guide them to its realization. Half 
an hour's teachiag ia the week is an opportunity 
a,s brief as it is precious. Every teacher can rer 
call with regret, it may be with shame, oppor- 
tunities lost through incompetence or unprepared- 
ness. It will be the minister's pairt to enter 
very sympathetically into the teacher's difficul- 
ties, and to give practical help in dealing with 
the child soul. If he succeed in inspiring his 
teachers with a deep interest in soul-winning and 
guiding them in their moist sacred endeavor, he 
will have made a splendid addition to^ the efficiency 
of his congregation as an instrument of sound 
and permianent evangelism, (b) The minister's 
own special opportunity of educational evangel- 
ism lies ia his Bible Class. In large congrega- 
tions, where yonng men and women are numer- 
ous, and competent assistance may be readily 
obtained, the work may be shared. At the same 
time, the Bible Class is the minister's stronghold. 
Especially with a view of reaching young men, 
no means could be more important. While the 
Bible Class is part of the educational department 



170 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

of the congregatioiL, it is not wise to make it 
merely onei among the classes of the Sundaiy 
school. Young men aire best reached when they 
are paid the compliment of being held worthy of 
special approach. Many a minister looks back 
upon such a class with deep thankfulness. In the 
privacy of a separate room, pursuing some spe- 
cial line of Biblical study, in which the minister 
is both leader and fellow-student, with liberty 
freely accorded to every member to: aisk queistions, 
and open up difficulties, young men have learned 
to love and trust their teacher, to take a new in- 
tellectual and practical intereist in religion, and to 
realize their personal relations to» Him who is the 
Way, the Truth, and the Life. The address may 
be a,s little like that which is usually described as 
''evangelistic" a,s could well be; yet in such a 
class and in such straight and unconventional 
talk, a work of evangelism may be done, of the 
very highest excellence, in reispect of spritual 
depth and moral quality. Out of such a claiss the 
minister will get his most loyal helpers, and the 
Church at large its noblest supporters. 

(3) The Conduct of Public Worship. We 
often hear a distinction drawn between the ^^ or- 
dinary service,'' held in the Church at stated 
hours on the Sunday, and the ' ' evangelistic medt- 
ing," which may be held in the same building 
at different hours, or on other days, or prefera- 
bly, is arranged to take place in some other place, 
such as a Hall or Theatre. 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 171 

It is to be admitted, of comrse, that the assem- 
bly of aivowed beilievers gatheired toigether for 
woirship, and a meeting held with the distinct ob- 
ject of reaching those who are not believers, will 
necessarily have diverse features. But the dis- 
tinction between them must not be pressed so 
hard as to suggest the thought that, thei former 
is not concerned with evangelism, and that the 
latter is the only occasion when we may look for 
conversions. The spirit of evangelism ought to 
characterize the whole conduct of Public Wor- 
ship. The minister ought to^ discharge his office 
as leader of the people's devotions so that in 
each act of worship Christ shall be lifted up be- 
fore the eyeis of men as the Divine Saviour and 
Lord. It ought to be possible, and indeed natural, 
that the Spirit of God should find in any part of 
the service a fit instrument for bringing souls 
from their sins toi their Redeemer, and in the 
whole of it^ in its combined impression on the 
mind, an opportunity of awaikening the new life 
in those who ais yet posseiss it not. 

Conversion should be aimed at-, not merely in 
an * * a,side^ ' ' or in a paragraph at the close of the 
seirmon, but in every exercise in which the min- 
ister seieks to lead his people in their act of 
worship. 

The prayers of the congregation are all of- 
fered in Jesus' name; and whatever their special 
object — confession, supplication, thanksgiving or 
interceission— do immediately point the soul to 



172 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the one Mediatoir between God and man, and form 
ways of approacli to Him. 

Tlie praises of the congregation aire all ad- 
dressed to God throngh Christ, and are meant to 
magnify Him in His person and work. Even 
when the music does not come from the congre- 
gation as a whole, but is rendered by choir or 
soloist, it ought to serve no other end than the 
glory of Christ. Musical performanceis are not 
worship. Ministers and choir masters have a 
clear duty to make the proclamation of the Gos- 
pel in song the regulative principle in all their 
selections of music. This does not mean that any 
premium) is put upon ranting tunes, or senti- 
mental words. The Gospel deserves to be set 
forth in the noblest music and the most perfect 
literary form. Choirs need not be afraid that 
their technical skill will be wasted by being dedi- 
cated to the service of evangelism. If any self- 
repression in this direction were implied, this 
would simply be an aspect of that sacrificial spirit 
in which all the greatest, work is, dona 

The reading of the Scriptures is, obviously, 
a perfect instrument of evangelism. Christ is the 
unity of Scripture. The written word witnesses 
to the living Word. Only because it does this 
is any Scripture read in Church. Thei reader who 
realizes what is the meaning of the Scripture will 
never be inclined to belittle his service, or to per- 
form it in a slovenly fashion. How often are the 
interest and power of the Scriptures disguised, 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 173 

almost beyond recognition, by the carelessness of 
tbe reader! The reading of God's Word is an 
act of witness for Christ ; and it ought to be ren- 
dered with as perfect skill, as technical training, 
combined with prayerful study of the selected 
passage, can command. 

The offering is, in a real and noble sense, an 
act of worship. In thus yielding the first fruits 
of their increase to the unseen Lord, to whom they 
and all their substance belong. Christians are wit- 
nessing to the world that, while all things are 
theirs, they are not their own. They are confess- 
ing that they ha,ve been bought with a price, and 
are dedicating afresh all that they have and are, 
to publishing the glad tidings of redeooiption. The 
idea underlying the phrase ** Christian liberality" 
is radically false. How can we be liberal to One, 
to whom we owe all? The act, in which we set 
apart our means to Him, is not optional. It is 
part of that endeavor to further His cause, which 
is the primary duty of the Christian. 

All the exercises of worship, accordingly, are 
elements of a truly ^'evangelistic service." The 
minister is called on to make them, not mere 
** preliminaries" to something else, but a service of 
faith and worship directed to God in Christ, and a 
service of evangelism) directed toward the world. 

If every element in the worship thus serves 
the ends of the Gospel, there can be no doubt of 
the function of the sermon. It has only one aim, 
to preach Christ. 



174 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Eveiry seirmon must so preach Him tliat the 
soul's gaze shall be directed to> Him, and the soul's 
activity reach out to Him in faith and love. A 
discourse, of which this is not the controlling and 
inspiring motive, has no right to a place in the 
conduct of public woship. A sermon which does 
thus honor Christ serves the cause of evangel- 
ism, whether it be designated an ^^evangelistic 
address" or not. Some of the most successful 
evangelistic appeals have been made in sermons, 
of which the substance wa,s some application of 
Christian! ethic, or a discussion of some doctrinal 
point 

Indeed, it will be part of the wisdom of the 
minister thus to surprise the conscience of his peo- 
ple with the direct claim of Christ while their 
intelligence is awake and alert. 

Anything that savors of professionalism is to 
be avoided. The routiae utterance of ^'a word 
to the unconverted" will soon lose any point it 
ever possessed. Winged words do not, as a rule, 
announce themselves. Theirs is the silent arrow 
flight, not the shrieking of shrapnel. Thus Sab- 
bath by Sabbath, at every so-called ^^ ordinary" 
service, the minister will do a, ceasele'ss and ef- 
fective work of evangelism, not knowing whether 
at any time some soul may not be won for Christ, 
greatly desiring, and devoutly praying that this 
great thing should happen. There come times, 
however, when the minister will feel it laid upon 
him to preach the Gospel in a manner more direct 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 175 

and full. He will proclaim it tO' his people, not 
as it were by a suddem turn of tfhought, or an un- 
expected application, but a.vowedly and explicitly, 
setting forth the salvation of God, holding Christ 
full before the eye, and pleading with conscious 
and open insistence for the definite act of believ- 
ing surrender to the Eedeemer. 

He will need to consider most carefully what 
he is about, for this is to be one of the great days 
of his ministry. Such questions as these will oc- 
cur to him: (a) How often should he deliver such 
sermons ? Of course, no< exact answer, like ' ' every 
month," can be given. Such sermons must not 
be so frequent that they shall be part of an a,c- 
eustomed routine. They are of the nature of a 
^^ frontal attack," an advaace of the whole line, 
a charge home to the centre, launched at the tacti- 
cal and psychological moment. Yet they should 
not come so infrequently ais to resemble a, series 
of brilliant engagements, without plan of cam- 
paign, and therefore without cumulative effect. 

The minister must be on the watch, like a, skil- 
ful general, so that he may discern in the provi- 
dence of God the hour when he may doi that to 
which all his preaching and his whole ministry 
have been the designed preparation. 

If this be so— as surely it is —then once more 
we learn the lesson that the minister is to be the 
evangelist of his ofwn congregation. 

None is soi competent as he tO' reach the people 
in that stage of their spiritual history to which 



176 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

they have arrived, and of which he aJone can 
properly estimate the significance. The most 
gifted evangelist will not do for the people what 
at such a crisis their own minister can accomplish. 
Let no erring humility deprive the minister of 
this great opportunity, and of what may be, in 
God's gracious appointment^ his most splendid 
reward. 

(b) "What qnalitieis shall it poisseiss? It is 
implied, of course, that it mnst be the very best 
sermon, intellectnally as well as spiritually, of 
which the preia,cher is capable. A thin, watery 
sermon, even if the water is heated, is not good 
enough for evangelism. 

The evangelistic sermon will appeal to reason. 
It has to deal with the noblest themes, and it must 
do so in a worthy manner, setting forth the Chris- 
tian virtues fully, clearly, and persuasively. It 
will bear in on conscience. It will be ethical, ex- 
perimental, practical. It will be intensely per- 
sonal. It will not despise emotion, and will make 
due use of humor and pathos. It will never lose 
itself in the shallows, but will ever seek the depths 
of human nature. It will never make the stimu- 
lation of feeling an end in itself. Its goial is the 
judgment and the will. It asks for a verdict, a 
decision, in which every element of human nature 
acts together, in view of the great spiritual reali- 
ties unveiled by the Word of God. In appealing 
to men to give themselveis to Jesus, the minister 
is in duty bound to do so, with perfect truthful- 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 17? 

ness, stating' conditions and issues of sueh an act, 
not disguising the cost of discipleship. He must 
never seek to snatch a vote, but must always wait 
for a determination, whicli, even if it be accom- 
panied by deep emotion, must be deliberate and 
full. 

Such a sermon demands great care in prepa- 
ration. The Biblical topic must, be wisely selected. 
The exegesis must be exact and accurate, the in- 
terpretation luminous and sympathetic. The ar- 
gument must be sound. The illustrations need not 
be copious, but they must be apt and felicitous. 
The style must not be pedantically correct, nor ar- 
tificially rhetorical; neither must it be permitted 
to sink to coarseness or vulgarity. It ought to 
have within it the best scholarship, the widest cul- 
ture, the deepest experience, the most penetra- 
tive wisdom, the truest eloquence, of which the 
preacher is capable. It must be prepared in the 
atmosphere of prayer, and preached with pas- 
sion, the passion for souls. 

Sermons of this type, instead of being the 
refuge of the lazy minister, ought to be the am- 
bition of the ablest, most diligent, and most com- 
petent. Ministers properly feel themselves hon- 
ored in being invited to preach on some public 
occasion, and rightly make careful preparation 
for it. But there can be no greater occasion than 
the preaching of the Evangel, none deserving a 
richer or more scrupulous preparation. It may 
be confidently predicted that when such a sermon 

12 



178 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

is preached, the congregaition will listen to it 
with rapt attentiooa, and will go from it deeply 
moved, and— if the point be worth mentioning— 
with a great respect for the ability of their min- 
ister. In serving the canse of evangelism, the 
minister is gaining for himself a largei and per- 
manent influence. It is as vain, as it is sinful, to 
build a reputation out of unusual texts and ' ' strik- 
ing'' sermons. How many wandering stars there 
are in the eccleisiaistical firmament, passing from 
parish to parish with meteoric brilliance and me- 
teoric evanescence ! Eeputation, of course, ought 
not to be in the minister's thoughts at all. His 
one concern is evangelism. What reputation he 
is to gain, is none of his business. Let the dead 
bury their dead ; let him go and preach the Gospel. 

(c) How shall the sermon be followed up? 
We are entitled to believe that God works through 
His Word, in the moment of its proclamation. 
Yet this does not relieve the minister from the 
duty of following the public delivery of the ser- 
mon by some form of personal dealing. 

In many cases, especially if the sermon be 
delivered in the evening, an after meeting may be 
successfully held. Such a mieeting ought to be 
extremely informal and entirely elastic. Praise 
will be abundant. There should be room for tes- 
timony, or for inquiry. Opportunity should be 
given for conversation and social intercourse, 
always controlled by the general aim of the gath- 
ering, viz., to follow upon the service which has 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 179 

just finished, and to continue its effect. The min- 
ister and his a,ssistant in personal work should 
be quietly on the watch for those to whom a di- 
rect word might be helpfully spoken, so as to 
deepen the impression that may have been made 
by the sermon, and perhaps eiven condense it into 
the great decision. 

The minister's pastoral visitation will link it- 
self to his evangelistio sermon, and will give him 
even a better opportunity, than the after meeting, 
to continue the work his sermon sought to^ do. 
Very often he will come to know of some one 
whom he may definitely approach, and with whom 
he may closely and personally deal on the subject 
of the soul's relation to Christ. Through all these 
efforts, and beyond them, there must be continu- 
ous prayer, definite and believing, for those who 
have not yet been enabled to make a full surren- 
der to Christ. 

(4) The Celebration of the Sacraments. In 
all Churches which have remained true to the 
principles of the Eeformation these ordinances 
are not rites valuable in themselves, but are de- 
pendent for their meaning and power on their 
close connection with the Word of God. ^^I ex- 
hort you," says Luther, ^^ never to sunder the 
Word and the Water, or to) separate them. For 
where the Word is withheld, we have only such 
water as the maid uses to cook with;" and the 
Heidelberg catechism says that the sacraments 
'^are holy and visible signs ordained of God, to 



180 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tlie end that He might thereby the more fully de- 
clare aoid seal unto us the promise of the Holy 
Gospel'' (from Lindsay's History of the Refor- 
mation, vol. I, p. 479). It follows from this view 
of the sacraments, which is amply warranted by 
the New Testament, that their celebration may 
be made directly instrumental in the work of 
evangelism. 

Baptism in the case of adults can not be rightly 
administered unless there has been close personal 
dealing, and has meaning only as the symbol of 
a definite acceptance of the Gospel on the part of 
the baptized person. Application for the baptism 
of a child, made by parents, affords a great op- 
portunity of unfolding the terms of the Covenant 
of Grace, and of urging the necessity of personal 
faith on the part of those who seek this privilege 
for the infant members of their household, in 
which the parent is the divinely appointed spirit- 
ual shepherd and guide. Many parents have been 
led to Christ in personal faith as they sought to 
approach Him in their children's behalf. In the 
administration of the ordinance Christ Himself 
must be made the object to which every eye is di- 
rected. A congregation is never more sympa- 
thetic than when called on for its prayers on be- 
half of those being dedicated to Christ. A few 
well chosen words will at once enforce the mean- 
ing of the ordinance, and be tenderly and mov- 
ingly illustrated and emphasized by it. 

The Lord's Supper forms the crowning point 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 181 

of pastoral evangelism. In its symbolism it is 
a vivid presentation of the Gospel of Christ, who 
loved ns and gave Himself for ns, and is now the 
life and nourishment of onr souls. In all the ex- 
ercises connected with it, accordingly, the minis- 
ter's duty is to set forth the Gospel in its depth 
and fulness, so that the candidates for this high 
privilege shall have explained to them beyond 
possibility of misapprehension the nature of sal- 
vation, and the conditions of its appropriaijon. 
(1) The catechumen's class is a unique opportu- 
nity for giving plain and definite teaching as to 
the work of redemption, and the nature of Chris- 
tian experience, (ii) The private interview with 
tlie candidate is of priceless value in the pastor's 
work of soul-winning. The most experienced min- 
ister will approach it with deep anxiety, lest by 
any unwise counsel or ill-advised word he should 
misdirect the soul which he desires to lead to 
Christ. He will cast himself upon God for the 
wisdom and patience he requires. Once again, we 
note that the minister must not charge himself 
with that which he can not effect, viz., the actual 
birth of the soul into the Kingdom. But he must 
lay upon himself the responsibility of making 
plain what God has done in Christ, and what 
He looks for in the soul that draws near to Him. 
It is a position demanding the utmost care, lest 
he repel those who ought to come, or encourage 
those who ought to stay away. However great 
the difficulties may be, they are not greater than 



182 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the preciousness and the importance of this, the 
most sacred season of pastoral work. Upon it 
his eyes should be turned in all his activities. It 
is tlie time of ingathering. The fruit of his min- 
istry, especially in relation to the young, will here 
appear. No instrument of eivangelism— not even 
^^ after meetings'^ in connection with some great 
campaign— are more effective than dealing with 
candidates for communion, when faithfully and 
prayerfully carried out by wise and sympathetic 
ministers, (iii) The various preparatory services 
ought to be, in reality, evangelistic services of a 
very high order of spiritual efficiency. No topics 
are appropriate save those which centre in Christ, 
the personal Lord, who is the sum- and substance 
of the Gospel. The minister's teaching must con- 
verge on central themes. The people must be in- 
vited to give themselveis to concentrated thought 
upon the vital questions of God and the soul. It 
will be found useful to continue these meetings, 
occasionally, for a week or more, prior to* the 
celebration of the ordinance. The minister may 
sometimes deem it wise to obtain help in con- 
ducting them ; but the advantages of his being him- 
self the leader of his people as they turn in stead- 
fast gaze to Christ., are obvious and great. He 
and his people will gain, by God's grace, a real 
quickening of spirit., a genuine and lasting re- 
vival of faith and love, (iv) The Communion 
service itself has value and power in Christian 
experience, in proportion as it is made the occa- 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 183 

sion of proclaiming the Word of the Cross, of 
which the rite is at once symbol and seal. It may 
be that an older custom in Presbyterian Churches 
exaggerated the expository element, and tended to 
obscure the ordinance with multitude of words. 
In celebrating the Lord^s Supper, the minister 
will doi well to cultivate brevity. The attention 
of the people must not be overtaxed. It is imper- 
ative, however, that whatever sermon or address 
be given shall be made the vehicle of the simplest 
and most direct preaching of Christ. The time 
for discussion, argument, elaboration, proof, is 
past. Those who surround the Table are there 
as avowed believers, with the express purpose of 
confessing their faith in Christ, and gaining a 
fuller vision and a firmer hold of Him. They de- 
sire nothiag, and they need nothing, except to see 
'^no man save Jesus only." The minister's only 
function a,s preacher, and aiS celebrant, is to aid 
them in this spiritual endeavor. He is so to 
preach, and so to perform the ritual acts, that the 
Gospel shall be made luminous, and the great sal- 
vation be magnified. In that combination of 
Word and sacrament Christ will be present, and 
will give Himself by Plis Spirit to be the comfort 
and strength of His people. 

(5) The preparation of the congregation for 
evangelism. In all this we have been considering 
the congregation as the sphere of the pastor's 
evangelism. Yet the congregation is not merely 
the sphere of evangelism, but its instrument 



184 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Part of tlie pastoral office, accordingly, must lie 
in the training of the members of the congrega- 
tion for evangelistic effort. All Christian people 
must be instructed that it is impossible to retain 
a salvation which they are not seeking to com- 
Edunicate to others ; and they must be encouraged 
and directed to use the ordinary relations in 
which they stand to those around them as chan- 
nels of approach to the souls that know not Christ. 
Such training may best be given informally and 
in private ; but the minister will do well to make 
this duty of evangelism, as it is binding on all 
Christians, a subject of eixpress and careful treat- 
ment in the course of his more public ministra- 
tions. Every one requires guidance in a matter 
so difficult. Sermons may fittingly be preached 
with the aim of meeting so real a need. Other 
means, however, should also be employed. Ex- 
isting organizations may be made instrumental, 
not merely in doing certain necessary pieces of 
religious or philanthropic work, but in preparing 
those engagCid in such duties for that evangelism 
in which all their e!:fforts ought to culminate. The 
spirit of evangelism must pervade all the socie- 
ties connected with the congregation, else they will 
constitute merely a mass of machinery, and their 
maintenance will be a constant weariness. The 
minister might well take advantage of his visits 
to these societies to give some definite teaching 
on the subject of direct personal work. The meet- 
ings of Session, and of Deacons' Courts or Man- 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 185 

aging Boards, afford an opportunity of training 
for evangelism, of which a minister might well 
avail himself. Eontine duties have to be per- 
formed, and they, too, are part of the service of 
Christ and His Church. Yet time will not be 
wasted if it be spent in conference regarding the 
supreme end for which the Church exists. Elders 
and managers need to be reminded that unless 
what they are about is, in its place and measure, 
serviceable to the great end of bringing souls to 
allegiance to Christ, it is not worth doing at all; 
and they are to be quickened to a realization of 
the real dignity of their function as office-bearers 
in a Christian Church. An officer in a Christian 
congregation who is not a witness for Christ is 
not in his proper place. The age of ^^ bawbee" 
elders is pa,st. Let us not have as their success- 
ors men who are, it may be, mechanically efficient, 
but are not one whit more spiritual. 

It will be found extremely useful to assemble 
from time to time all those in the congregation 
who belong to one or other of its various boards 
or societies, that they may realize the unity of 
the work and its true character and aim, as well 
as the power and conditions of its successful ac- 
complishment. Such meetings will act as * ^ clear- 
ing houses'' for all kinds of practical ideas. In- 
ventiveness, will be stimulated. Eaimestness and 
spirituality of mind will be deepened. On such 
occasions the minis'ter can do most valuable 
wiork in preparing and training his moist ac- 



186 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tive associates for the great task devolving upon 
them. 

The possibilities of such meetings have not as 
yet been exhausted in the modern Church. They 
may be compared to meetings of directors of some 
great business enterprise. The Church has a 
great business in the world. That business is 
evangelism. 

Most observers of modern Church life are 
agreed that the men of the congregation form a 
great reserve of unused power. It must be the 
minister's aim to draw upon this reserve and to 
interest the men of the congregation definitely in 
the life and work of the Church. To imbue them 
with a sense of their responsibility for their fel- 
low-men, to prove to them the practically inex- 
haustible power of personal influence, to show 
them what they can individually do, to band them 
for united effort, to evoke the spirit of sacrifice, 
and to bring all suggested activities under control 
of loyalty to the Master, will be one of the great- 
est services the minister can render to his congre- 
gation, to the Church at large, and to the whole 
community. 

Among all the meetings for preparation and 
training, the chief place, however, belongs to those 
whose main activity is prayer. How many of such 
meetings there shall be, what form they are to 
take, can not be predicted beforehand. Once a 
week is surely not too often. In this weekly 
prayer meeting the whole congregation is con- 



THE SPHEKES OF EVANGELISM 187 

cerned, in its double capacity of sphere and in- 
strnment of evangelism. To snch a meeting re- 
ports of the various departments may be brought. 
In it questions of method may be discussed. By 
it knowledge of the Church's activity may be 
spread, and interest in them may be deepened 
and made more intelligent. From it volunteers 
for service may be expected. It will be strange, 
also, if at it the minister does not find an op- 
portunity, the more valuable because incidental 
rather than stated, of doing a direct work of 
evangelism. The Gospel is not least effectively 
preached when it is presented as a demand for 
consecrated service. But through all that is 
spoken at such meetings by man to man there 
must mingle continually the word that goes from 
man to God, in confession and supplication. The 
amplest service must be laid at God's feet. In 
the quiet of the worker's soul, when even his 
Christian activities are hushed, God speaks, and 
His Spirit comes. 

Section III 

THE COMMUNITY 

We now look beyond the Christian Church to the 
community in which it is placed, and to which 
it owes the great duty of evangelism. How shall 
the Church most effectively fulfil this duty? How 
is it to reach the vast multitudes of people who, 
even in so-called ''Christian" lands, own no per- 



188 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

sonal relation to Christ! How is it to bear wit- 
ness to society so as to penetrate social life, civic 
or national, witlx thie anthority of Jesus Christ? 
Into the great problems, hence arising, it is im- 
possible to enter with any detailed treatment. A 
daily increasing literature is grappling with them. 
A few lines of thought, however, are here sug- 
gested for the reader's further consideration. 

I. Thje persons composing the community. 
These may be considered from two points of view. 

1. The Crowd. Modem psychology has given 
particular attention to the crowd. A ^' crowd" is 
not properly viewed as the addition of individual 
units. Two and two in this case do not make 
merely four. When the four unitiS stand in a 
group, whether on the street, or in a saloon, or 
in a Church, they are not what they were when 
separate. They become ea,ch something differ- 
ent, perhaps greater and better, perhaps meaner 
and worse than they were. Such groups and 
crowds are susceptible to influences which tell 
upon them as living wholes. They pass, through 
phaseis of experience; they can make decisions 
and perform actions almost aiS if they were per- 
sons. In the life of the crowd the individual par- 
takes. He is being made by his place in the group. 
Its decisions become his. Its actions are his ac- 
tions. He is responsible for them. He shares in 
the doom or the victory that is consequent upon 
them. Such groups are either natural or artifi- 
cial. A natural group is created by similarity of 



THE SPHEKES OF EVANGELISM 189 

conditions affecting a, largdr ot smaller nnnnber 
of people. An artificial gronp is created by some 
impulsion from without, evoking some common 
dominant emotion or purpose. 

(1) Illustrations of the natural grouping of 
people into living unities readily occur. The pop- 
ulation of an agricultural district forms a distinct 
psychological group, with distinctive habitudes of 
thought and feeling. An urban population, in like 
manner, has a distinct mental and spiritual idio- 
syncrasy. Motives can be appealed to in its case, 
which would not so powerfully affect a purely 
rural population. The people of a frontier set- 
tlement have predominant features of their own, 
with characteristic traits, both moral and intel- 
lectual. The divisions of modern society, artifi- 
cial in origin though they are, have come through 
lapse of time to create *^ crowds," as by a natural 
or automatic process. Working men form one 
huge psychological class. They are learning, 
more and more, to act together ; and to form men- 
tally, emotionally, and volitionally, one * ^ crowd, ' ' 
which may exist in different countries or conti- 
nents, yet moves, more and more, as a unit. The 
extremely wealthy scarcely constitute a crowd, in 
the psychological sense, for money, possessed in 
great quantities, is a distinctly anti-social force. 
But the middle class, as we may see it in Churches, 
or concert rooms, does constitute a crowd. Its 
members dress alike, talk about the same things, 
have the same kind of amusements, and move 



190 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

within the same circle of ideas. The same may- 
be said ah out the slum and its inhabitants. Com- 
mon griefs and needs and fears and hopes unite 
those whose lives are one long conflict with hard 
conditions, marked often by defeat and disaster. 
Most ^^ great" cities possess a district, where vice 
is the principal activity, whose unhappy denizens 
form a crowd, the saddest group ever gathered 
on the surface of this sorrowful earth. 

There are other crowds less; concrete and man- 
ifest than these, yet no less really existent, open 
to common influences and capable of common ac- 
tions. Such is the City whose inhabitants, rich 
and poor together, constitute a real unity, which is 
not always visible, disguised often by the divi- 
sions of groups and classes within its corporate 
body, which, however, is always latent and may 
be evoked by some common need or alarm. Such, 
too, is the Nation. In some countries the con- 
sciousness of nationality has been deepened and 
educated through long centuries of history. In 
newer lands it is> in process of creation. Only by 
degrees, for instance, in such a country as Canada, 
can a truly national sentiment, be created, which 
shall be. shared not only by men of Anglo*- Saxon 
descent, but by those also whom we term * 'for- 
eigners." 

Such psychoilogicai ^'crowds" exist; and they 
have to be reckoned with in the work of evangel- 
ism, (a) In the first place, the Gospel meets 
every need of man, and is adapted to aU the situ- 



• THE SPHEKES OF EVANGELISM 191 

atioiis in which man is placed. Wherever, ac- 
cordingly, it finds a crowd, L e., a gronp created 
by a certain set of ideas, and expressing, more 
or less articulately, a definite point of view, it 
takes up these ideas, and recognizes that point 
of view. It will, of course, critically estimate 
these ideas, and may have to reject some, while 
interpreting others, and giving them the stamp of 
Divine approval; but in any case it will under- 
stand them, and take account of them, in its pres- 
entation of Christ's claims and offers. It may not 
adopt the point of view held by the crowd, but it 
will never reject it without close study, doing 
justice to the necessities and aspirations which 
led to its adoption. The Gospel has a distinct 
message to the farmer and to the city dweller, 
to the working man and to the merchant, to the 
stalwart frontiersman as well as to the inhabitant 
of long settled countries, to the poor as well as to 
those to whose doors the wolf never comes. 

Evangelism must be adjusted to the psycho- 
logical condition of the crowd among which it 
is carried on. Hence, every evangelist must be 
a skilled practical psychologist, and must read 
himself sympathetically into the state of mind of 
the group which he is seeking to influence. In 
short, he can only influence the crowd by becom- 
ing, in effect, one of the crowd. The Gospel must 
be presented as the Gospel of that crowd, and not 
of some other. Some technical training in psy- 
chology, serious reading in sociology, a great deal 



192 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

of '* gumption/' and an abundance of the spirit 
of love are needed for group evangelism. 

It is, perhaps, chiefly in two directions that the 
Modem Church needs to do evangelistic work of 
this type. The first lies in the ' ^ crowd' ' composed 
of wage earners. It is incredible that the Gospel, 
whose theme is the doing and dying of One who 
was a working man, which was first carried b^^ 
working men to the toiling classes of antiquity, 
should fail to win and hold the working men of 
this modern age. Modern evangelism must deal 
honestly and frankly with working men, never 
flinching even when it has unwelcome truths to 
tell ; but always it must stand with working men, 
in their honorable toil, and in their just demands, 
and preach the Gospel as the power of God unto 
salvation, i. e., the regenerating and perfecting 
of that manhood which is the working man's great 
asset, and the instrument of his labor, as well as 
being in its full development the highest result of 
his long endurance. 

The second line of evangelism specially needed 
in our day has in view the large middle class, 
which ha.s been created by the increase and dif- 
fusion of wealth during the last fifty years. It 
is probable that this class is far further than the 
working class from the spirit of the Gospel. 
There is no surer way to deaden a soul than to 
surround it with comforts, lap it in luxury, and 
feed it with amusements. Savonarola would find 
himself as much moved in modern Toronto as he 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 193 

was in mediaBval Florence. If ever terrorism were 
justified, it would be in a West End Cliurcli, or 
the drawing-room of the nouveaux riches, ra,th,er 
than in the slum. Yet such a spasm of wrath 
would only defeat its end. We want evangelists 
who can take the average people of modern so^ 
ciety along the lines of such culture, physical and 
intellectual, as they can understand, and lead 
them out into the higher life, after which they are 
blindly feeling. No doubt it is far harder to sym- 
pathize with such people than with working men. 
Yet they are worth winning, for their own sakes, 
and for the place they hold in the making of the 
nation. 

A saying is ascribed, perhaps erroneously, to 
the Duke of Wellington, that Waterloo* was won 
on the playing fields of Eton. There is a sense 
in which it is true that the battle of Christianity 
in Canada will be won in the playing fields of 
our schools and colleges. Give us the young men 
of our middle class, clean limbed, well groomed, 
athletic, energetic. Give us their sisters, elegant, 
accomplished, high spirited. Fill them with the 
Christian spirit. Dedicate them to the Christian 
ideal. Subdue them before the Figure of the Cru- 
cified. Inspire them with His love, quicken them 
by His power, and we have won Canada for 
Christ, fairest realm within the Empire of Brit- 
ain, to be one of the Dominions of the Kiag of 
kings, and Lord of lords. 

(b) In the second place, the Gospel is designed 

13 



194 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

to meet a need that is absolutely fundamental and 
universal, the same in every possible group or 
combination of men, vis^., man's need of forgive- 
ness and reconciliation. Jew and Gentile, capital- 
ist and wage earner, the radiant vision of the 
drawing-room, and the downcast dweller in the 
slum, meet here in their basal need of redemption 
and restoration. To all alike the same Gospel 
must be preached, and preached in its fulness. 
Such evangelism rises high above class distinc- 
tions, because it sinks to the very roots of human 
nature. 

By it the dangers of *^ crowd'' evangelism are 
to be averted. The narrowness of the crowd is 
to be rebuked by the breadth of the Gospel. The 
tendency to segregation and consequent want of 
humanitarian sympathy is to be counteracted by a 
love which includes mankind and takes the world 
for its parish. Whether it be working men or rich 
men who are exhibiting spiritual selfishness, they 
must be told plainly that the Gospel is not a per- 
quisite of theirs. 

By it the higher unities of human life are con- 
nected and enriched, even in a sense almost cre- 
ated. The City will never flourish so truly as when 
the Word preached deepens and educates the 
moral sense, purges out civic corruption, and 
raises the standard of conunercial morality. The 
Nation is begotten of religion. A sound evangel- 
ism is the greatest political factor in the life of 
any people. It will harmonize the most discord- 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 195 

ant elements. It will inspire the most diverse 
races with a sense of mutual kindred and common 
patriotism. The Race can become a living whole 
only when it is united in Him in whom there is 
neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, bond 
nor free. The true '^enthusiasm of humanity" 
can be evoked only in those who know that they 
owe their very lives to the love sealed on Calvary. 

(2) A '^ Crowd," in the psychological sense, 
may be created by the employment of certain 
means calculated so as to bring about a definite 
mental condition in a group assembled in one 
place. Such an assemblage may be operated on 
by one who, whether he knows it or not, is follow- 
ing certain psychological laws. By affirmation, 
by repetition, by suggestion, by inhibition, by re- 
lying on the tendency to imitation, the skilful ora- 
tor may bring the crowd before him into a state 
of mind which is almost identical amid all its 
units. For the time being they think alike and 
feel alike; they are filled with one passion; they 
commit themselves to one decision. Barristers 
and politicians, popular leaders of every kind, not 
merely demagogues, but true patriots, do this con- 
tinually. 

Evangelists have done it in every age. They 
have so preached that they have welded the audi- 
ence before them, which may have contained many 
individuals that were merely curious, or possibly 
even critical or hostile, into a spiritual whole, in 
which the units composing it have lost their sep- 



196 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

arateness, have been mastered by one emotion, 
and bave dedicated tbemselves to one life-pur- 
pose. It is indisputable that this, has often been 
done; and it is certain that it can be done again 
even in our day. In a sense, it is easy. There 
is no multitude so mighty or so multiform, which 
may not become plastic in the hands of some great 
master, who is possessed by his message, and has 
the key to the human heart. It has even been 
imagined that this ^^mass" evangelism was to be 
cultivated, as the only really effective method; 
and *^ revival'' has been gauged by the size of the 
crowds, and the quantity of feeling evinced. Yet 
questions arise in connection with this type of 
evangelism which ought to be frankly faced. 
What is its real spiritual value? What are its 
genuine moral effects? How are the individuals 
in the crowd really affected? When they rise in 
their place, or come forward to the ^^ mourners' " 
bench, or pass into the inquiry room, or answer, 
in some symbolic way, the appeals of the skilled 
revivalist, do they know what they are about? 
Will their decision stand? Or will it pass away 
like an imprint left on sand, which the incoming 
tide will obliterate forever ? Will there be a reac- 
tion from the superheated emotional state to one 
of permanent insusceptibility to religious ideas? 
In dealing with questions such as these, those who 
have the cause of evangelism at heart need be at 
no pains to minimize dangers or deny facts. It 
is certain that the dangers of ^^mass" evangel- 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 197 

ism is veiry great, and that uBwise or reckless 
eivangelists have heedlessly eixposed themselves to 
damaging criticism. Facts of an appalling na- 
ture might be cited to show how persons emerge 
from the mental exercises of snch great meetings, 
apparently ^ ^ converted, " but really injured mor- 
ally and spiritually, it may be^ for life. Disas- 
trous reactions, spreiadiag through whole com- 
munities, have followed seasons of high religious 
excitement. Such resultiS, however, ought not to 
be quoted without some inquiry into the causes 
producing them. It is not certiain that the mass 
meeting as such mast produce these results, and 
thait, therefore, it stands discredited. Effects of 
the kind indicated are seen, when closely exam- 
ined, to be due, in the main, to preventible causes. 
Thus (i) there may be a defective presentation 
of the Gospel, with unbalanced statements and 
wrong emphasis, and appeal tO' selfish motive; 
with the result that evangelism is changed from' 
being the Word of God into a mere device of man ; 
and men are led to accept salvation, not on the 
Divinely appointed terms, but by a kind of ^ ^ gold- 
brick deal.'* (ii) There may be no proper prep- 
aration for the ^ ^ revival ; ' ' and unspiritual means 
may be used to propagate and heighten it; with 
the inevitable issue of speedy collapse, followed, 
it may be, by long years of religious, indifference. 
(iii) There may be neglect of that spiritual nur- 
tujre which a seaison of religious quickening ur- 
geiotly demands. The evangelism may have been 



198 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

soundJ audi true, and the preparation wise and 
prayerfnl, and the methods careful and re- 
strained; but if there be no proper garnering of 
the results, wa,ste and disappointment will inevi- 
tably follow. It is obvious, however, that none of 
these mistakes need to be made. Those who are 
led to employ the method of evangelism under 
consideration may guard against them, and the 
evils complained of need not follow. In any casei, 
the preaching of the Gospel to crowds, even the 
largest that the sound of the human voice can 
reach, does not stand discredited. 

It remains an invincible fact that, for men to 
feel and act in crowds is not an abnormal mani- 
festation of human nature, and dociS not necessa- 
rily lead to evil. Men are not at their best when 
they isolate themselves from one another in self- 
centred individuality. The greatest movements 
of human history, those that have wrought untold 
good in the lives of individuals, have been social 
in their character, and have been carried on by 
mien acting together in masses, under conscious 
imitation, as well as by a kind of unconscious 
contagion. The facts and laws of human nature 
are to be recognized and followed by evangelism, 
as well as by other movements. Men are to be 
approached in the interests of true religion, as 
well as of sound patriotism, along the lines of 
their social constitution. The man in the crowd 
may become greater and better than he was in 
his mere individuality. He may have a larger 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 199 

vision, a deeper self-knowledge. He may have a 
clearer apprehension of truth, and be more cogni- 
zant of nnseen realities. His se^ise of responsi- 
bility may be intensified; his conscience roused 
to swifter and more intelligent judgment. The 
man's moral vitality may be increased. He may 
arrive at a decision which issues from the very 
depths of his being, and which will have perma- 
nent effects, even though he might not be able, 
logically or psychologically, to analyse the pro- 
cess of which it is the culmination. The result of 
his experiences in connection with one night's 
evangelism may be his elevation to a higher plane 
of religious life, and his transition from an old 
universe of ethical conduct to a new one^ where 
the inspiration is nobler, and the achievement 
more in accordance with the will of God, and with 
his own better self. When the evangelist thus fol- 
lows the laws of human nature he is coHoperating 
with God, who made man, and always acts upon 
man in conformity with his nature. It is no illu- 
sory dream, but a splendid possibility, that the 
power of God may act within and upon a group 
or crowd assembled to hear the Gospel, and the 
Spirit of God ^^fall upon," or ^^be poured out," 
at a given season, upon a waiting multitude, or 
even upon a whole community. If such a great 
work of God is to be wrought, however, those 
points must be attended to which have been indi- 
cated in preceding pages, and which may be elic- 
ited from a study of the New Testament, and of 



200 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

the history of evangelism, and of the facts of hu^- 
man nature; such as the quality of tlie Gospel 
preached, the character of the messengers, the 
preparation for and the conduct of the work, to- 
gether with the careful harvesting of the fruits. 
In particular, two things have to be done, (i) The 
crowd must be disintegrated, and so far as possi- 
ble its constituent parts be dealt with one by one. 
No doubt there are numbers of individuals whom 
no system, however efficient (e. g., that of having 
cards distributed through the audience) , can ever 
identify, so as to bring them under the direct no- 
tice of those co-operating in the work. In some of 
tb'ese cases deep and peirmanent good has been 
wroiight, while others may depart uninfluenced, 
or even injured through their misapprehension of 
the meaning or terms of the Gospel. This only 
makes it more; imperative th^at the Evangelist 
shall first deliver his message in the plainest, most 
unmistakable manner to the whole audience, and 
that he: and his fellow-workers shall then do all 
in their power to come faice to face; with those 
who are under an. impression of some sort, 
whether intellectual or emotional. It will be well 
if, right at the close of the mass meeting, such per- 
sons should be invited to frank conversation, so 
that difficulties may be fairly discussed, the condi- 
tions of salvation, and the nature of Christian 
life be thoroughly considered, and a decision or 
confession, made under the overwhelming spirit- 
ual impact of the great meeting, be carefully re- 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 201 

viewed, and deiiniteiy, even coolly, repeated. If 
snch an interview cannot be held at once, oppor- 
tunity for it should be sought as early as pos- 
sible. Without such detailed work, the results 
of the mass meeting are almost certain tO' be dis- 
appointing; and people will ask, with sorrow, or 
in scornful triumph, what lasting good came out 
of scenes which at the time were so thrilling 
and so wonderful. To engineer mass meetings, 
to advertise these effectually, to arrange for great 
effects in music and oratory, and to omit ar- 
rangem:ent,s for this personal work, or to neglect 
their scrupulous fulfilment, is to invite failure, 
and to do untold evil to the cause of evangelism 
and of Christianity. 

If these considerations ought to be carefully 
regarded in organizing meetings to be attended 
mainly by adults, how much greater ought to be 
the care taken in holding evangelistic services 
for children! To play upon the child soul with 
strong, emotional appeial, to make unguarded use 
of the child's faculty of imitation, and in this 
way to sweep hundreds of little ones intO' pro- 
fessions, of the meaning and consequences of 
which they know nothing, is, unintentionally no 
doubt, but really to commit grievous wrong. At 
the same time it is not necessary absolutely to 
forbid meetings for children; but it is necessary 
to. exercise the utmost care to avoid excitement 
and unreality. The Gospel story may be told to 
children with perfect simplicity, in terms that 



202 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

they can understand, and witli ideas which they 
can assimilate. The relation which a. child should 
hold to the Saviour may be explained, and chil- 
dren may be urged to enter into it, without forcing 
the child soul into an experience that is not nor- 
mal to it. When such a method of evangelism 
is followed by the wisest and gentlest treatment 
of each of the little ones, or of the growing boys 
and girls, there is no reason tO' doubt that it may 
prove the instrument of bringing young people 
into an attitude toward the Lord and Master 
which may be permanent, and become the starting 
point of a deepening Christian experience, (ii) 
The crowd necessarily disintegrates. The meet- 
ing breaks up. The multitudes disperse, and are 
dissolved into their individual elements. A thou- 
sand interests rush in toi displace that one con- 
cern which has filled their minds for an hour. 
The complexity of modern life, with its various 
affairs of business or society, of politics or of 
sport, makes the dissipation of religious interest 
after even a great and impressive meeting fatally 
easy. In an older and less complex civilization 
(e. g., in Scotland during the evangelical revival 
of the early part of the 19th century) the reli- 
gious interest might hold for lengthened periods 
the dominant place in the popular mind. Even in 
modern times it might be so. Cities have been 
known to suspend most of their activitiets, and 
have poured out en masse to attend a game of 
base bail or lacro-sse. It is surely conceivable 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 203 

that tlie great issues of religion might command 
no less concentrated attention from the com- 
munity at large. When this is not the case, how- 
efver, necessity is laid upon those who love the 
evangel, to follow the preaching at the great 
meeting with their own private testimony, borne 
tactfully but unflinchingly, as opportunity serves, 
in all the relations of life. The public must never 
be allowed to suppose that evangelism is confined 
to the mass meeting. It would be truer to say 
that the mass meeting is chiefly an occasion for 
evangelism, providing, a,s it were, a point of de- 
parture for that personal witness which is the 
very strength of evangelistic work, and creating, 
so to speak, an atmosphere in which individual, 
face-to- face dealing can be carried on. 

When, accordingly, evangelism is conducted 
with the wisdom which tlie Word of God teaches, 
and the spirit of love inspires, when, in partic- 
ular, the effect, wrought on the crowd, is supple- 
mented and corroborated in individual work, it 
may be confidently expected that, even though 
some mistakes may be made and some disap- 
pointments follow, there will be no sweeping re- 
action, no disastrous ebb, rather that there will 
be real and lasting advance in the lives of indi- 
viduals, and in the uplift of the community. 

2. Individuals:— Personal Evangelism,. The 
community which is to be evangelized is not to 
be regarded merely as a crowd. Ultimately the 
community consists of persons. There is an evan- 



204 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

gelism, a,ccordingly, whicb has for its direct and 
immediate object the individual. The individual 
ma,y be a working man or a capitalist, he may 
belong to any one of the groups into which society 
is divided. But he is a man; and *^a man 's a 
man for a ' that. ' ' As such, in his mere humanity, 
he stands in God's sight; is the object of God's 
love, and the subject of God's gracious and mys- 
terious dealing. The power, which may *^fall 
upon" the great assembly, also operates on the 
individual within the precincts of the separat-e 
soul. It is not an illusion; it is a fact attested 
by a great multitude of instances, which no man 
can number, verified in the experience of every 
Christian, that Christy the living Lord, does reach 
by His Spirit the soul of man, and works therein 
a change whose wonder and magnitude echo 
through the pages of the New Testament, and 
re-echo from countless lives that have been trans- 
figured by it.. 

(1) The Duty, The power of God, however, 
though it works mysteriously and is the sole ef- 
ficient cause of the changei, does not work magic- 
ally. It finds normally its instrument in a per- 
son, and reaches from man to man by the media of 
personal relationships. The Christian minister, 
accordingly, and all Christians, by the very fact 
of their being such, are called to this, the greatest 
and most etfective type of evangelistic effort^ the 
winning of the individual soul for Christ. 

There can be no doubt that it is to neglect of 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 205 

this duty that the low level of spiritual life in the 
Church, and the slow progress of Christianity in 
the community, are mainly due. Allow the widest 
range, and the highest influence we please, to the 
evangelism of the pulpit, or of the mass meeting: 
yet there will remain an enormous proportion of 
the population which is almost completely beyond 
such instrumentality. No one can calculate the 
number of young men who, perhaps, do occasion- 
ally attend church, or go to a meeting, who 
either definitely disbelieve the truths of Cbris- 
tianity, or are utterly perpleixed by the presen- 
tation of them to which tbey have occasionally 
listened, and who, in any caset, s^tand in no sympa- 
thetic relation to the Christian Church, and owe 
no allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Of the existence of such men the Cburch no 
doubt is dimly aware, but it may be doubted if 
even ministers have fully realized the gravity of 
the situation thus created; and it is certain that 
the vast mass of professedly Christian people is 
a,ffected very slightly by it. 

It is most important to remember that, while 
all means must be employed, none that are im- 
personal can grapple with the problem. 

The minister has not done what it was his 
duty to do, if he has left one soul in his care un- 
sought by definite individual approacb. Nothing 
is more terrible in the minister's retrospect than 
the indifference or the cowardice whicb led him to 
lose so many opportunities of soul winniag. The 



206 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Christian has lived in vain who has not borne his 
witness to his associaties and sought in private 
to introduce them to One whom he claims as his 
Friend and Master. Conviction of sin through 
neglect of this duty will be one of the first signs 
and causes of revival in the Christian Church. 
There is no other way of winning the world for 
Christ than by preaching the Grospel to every 
creature, 

(2) The Difflculty, As soon as this duty is 
mentioned, considerations present themselves 
which have powerfully impressed the modern 
mind, and must have full weight given them. Man 
is a being so fearfully and wonderfully made, that 
in him body and soul, nervous and mental pro- 
cesses, ph3^siological and spiritual facts are woven 
and int,erwoven with a closeness of interaction 
which seems to- defy analysis. His condition, 
moreover, at any moment^ is the result of in- 
fluences which can scarcely be enumerated, whose 
relativei strength can hardly be estimated: he- 
redity, near and far ; environment, closer and more 
remote; age; social standing; health or sickness; 
facts of temperamienit ; forces risuig out of the 
subliminal sphere; the aJternatie attractions of the 
lower and higher life which coimpete within the 
soul, and sway its choices hither and thither, and 
make the man a. mystery, and sometimeis a horror, 
to himself and to those who* look upon him. 

A thing so amazing and soi perplexing is the 
human soul, so pathetic in its lot^ so tragic in its 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 207 

possibilities ! Hoiw delicately poised is the hnman 
heart between grief and joy, defeat and triumph! 
How near man is both to heayen and hell ! How 
like God, and how capable of resisting Him! It 
is plain that terrible mistakes may be made, even 
in well meant efforts at personal dealing. Sonls 
may be treated as viscous fluids, and compressed 
into moulds ; or regarded as wood, and carved or 
hacked with tools ; or classed as wild beasts, and 
clubbed with teocts ; or identified as criminal, and 
hounded down with threats. Emotional suscepti- 
bilities may be operated on till they become fan- 
taiStic, fanatical, or maniacal. Experiences may be 
held to be complete and fixed, when they are really 
unstable and may prove evanescent. Delusions 
may be fostered and hopes flattered ; while doubts 
are treated as crimes, a^nd secret wrestlings con- 
demned as unbelief or backsliding. Unreal pro- 
fessions may be accepted, and unwarranted con- 
fidence encouraged; while misgivings and self 
distrust are aggravated till they become deso- 
lation and despair. Who shall begin to calculate 
the misery and loss produced by coarse and ig- 
norant handling of souls? 

(3) The Endeavor, Dread of doing harm is, 
accordingly, the reason why many Christian 
people decline a task fraught with such possibili- 
ties of error. Yet the fact that a duty is hard is 
no reason for evading it, though it is a reason for 
the utmiost carefulness in attemptmg to fulfil it. 
It is wise and right to get all the help that books 



208 NEW TESTAMENT EVANaELISM 

can arfford, to know moire accuraiteily the nature 
of the soul, and the eLsercises through which it is 
wont to pass into the Kingdom. Yet we ought to 
conduct such studies with the constant, remem- 
brance that we can never solve the mystery of a 
human soul, or trace all the ways of Grod with it. 
We cannot tabulate all the types of conversion, 
or label each soul as it comes under our scrutiny. 
When, therefore, we have done our utmost by 
means of technical study to understand and rea,ch 
the soul we seek to win, we must have recourse 
to the two great paths of approach by which one 
human being can meet another. The one way is, 
apparently, indirect, and yet it goes straight to 
its goal: the pathway of prayer, which reaches 
the heart of man via the heart of God. It is im- 
possible either to explain or to exag'gerate the 
power of prayer in our endeavors to bring men 
to Christ. The other is the way of love, ^^the way 
the Master went," in profound sympathy, in iden- 
tification with the needs of others, even to the 
extent of taking their sins toi our hearts, and 
carrying them before God in grief and suppli- 
cation, and giving ourselves, in Luther's words, 
*^as a sort of Christ" to our neighbors, that we 
may bring them to Goid. Love can shew the way 
when technical instruction fails; and can become 
the instinct of a practical psycholo'gy not taught 
in text-books. Above all, it becomes us to' re^ 
member that we are not converting agencies. We 
are, first and last, simply and merely evangelists. 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 209 

Our whole work lies in making Christ known, and 
in helping the purblind, perplexed soul to see Him. 
We are viotj Christ is, the poweir of God unto 
salvation. The less we occupy the vision of the 
soul, the better. That soul winner is the wisest 
who gets moist swiftly out of the souPs way, and 
out of the soul's sight. Christy and not the human 
instrument, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
The issue is with Him. When at last by God's 
goodness the issue which we have longed and 
laboured for does take place, we shall be wise to 
pay but little heed to the concomitant phenomena. 
They da not greatly matter. They have in them- 
selves no religious, value. They belong to* the 
idiosyncrasy of the soul. What really matters, 
and a,ffords the only valid test of the spiritual 
quality of the result, is the new life which begins 
in acceptance of Christ a,s Saviour and Lord, is 
maintained in constant coTreispondence with Him, 
and is consummated in likeness to Him. 

II. The Church and the Community. 

In considering the evangelistic work of the 
Church, we have to note in passing a mischievous 
error, begotten, no doubt, of some failure on the 
Church's part to realize its true function. It has 
been supposed that, if a really effective work of 
evangelism were to be done in the community, it 
must be undertaken, not by the Church, but by 
some other organization. Soicieties, accordingly, 
have come into existence, whoise value need not be 

14 



210 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

questioiQed, They have, however, tended to fall 
into some of the very errors which they have de^ 
nounced in the Churches. Their methods have be- 
come stereotyped, their interests sectional, their 
outlook narrow. The older societies of this kind 
have often fonnd themselves confronted, in their 
own fields of labor, by newer ones, which have 
regarded them very much as they have looked at 
thie Churches. Amid this nnhappy strife, neither 
evangelism nor the Christian life has prospered. 

Happily, better counsels seem to be prevailing 
in onr day. Churches and societies of the kind 
indicated are learning mutual respect,, and are 
drawing together in co-operation. The Chnrch is 
learning that its main function is evangelism, and 
is recognizing that organizations which have 
evangelism ais their aim cannot really be rivals 
of the Church. She ought to acknowledge that 
she has. had much to learn from them in the past., 
and ha,s nothing tO' fear from them now. She 
has her own work of evangelism to do, for the 
conduct of which she is peculiarly fitted, the re- 
sults of which) she alone can conserve, develop, 
and utilize. 

When, accordingly, we come to consider the 
Church's work of evangelism, we can see that a 
complete enumeration of methods is necessarily 
impossible. We saw that the New Testament 
does not attempt to lay down hard and fast rules ; 
and it would be worse than useless to send the 
Church in chains of fixed methods toi a work which 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 211 

must be as many sided as humaii nature is com- 
plex and various. Evangelism demands inven- 
tiveness in its agents, and versatility in its oper- 
ations. Details must be studied in the history 
of evangelism, ancient and modem, and sugges- 
tions must arise out of constant and assiduous 
review of the situation. Servile imitation of 
otlieir men's methods means sterility and de- 
feat. 

We have already noted in outline the New 
Testament plan of campaign. Certain lines along 
which the modern Church seems called to move 
may here be briefly indicated. 

1. Instruments and accessories. We have 
seen that Churches of the Presbyterian order owe 
ultimjately to Thomas Chalmers the idea, of the 
place and value of philanthropic and educational 
instrumientality a,s accessories to' the work of 
evangelism. Since Chalmer's day parochiaJ ma- 
chinery haiS enormously increased in quantity and 
elaboration. It is quite possible that it has been 
oveir elaborated. The principle which should 
guide the Church in devising such machinery is 
obvious. The Church is to approach the central 
citadel of human nature, through the various de- 
partments of human need and interest. She is 
to exhibit Christianity in its practical application 
to man's varied circumstances. She is to do this 
as simple duty, because the spirit of love inspires 
such action. But she is to keep before her view, 
in all her endeavors, the goal of leading the bene- 



212 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ficiaries of her action, not merely to herself but 
beyond herself, to her Lord and Head. 

Broadly speaking, the machinery will corre- 
spond to three aspects of human naturei 

(1) Man's physical necessities claim atten- 
tion, and a large range of activity immediately 
presents itself, varying from the relief of actual 
want, to the supply of instruments of the health 
and culture of the body, includiag the improve- 
ment of the dwellings of those whom it is desired 
to lead into a pure, moral life. Though the State, 
through its departments of education and public 
health, is operating more and more, and with in- 
creasing skill in these departments, the Church 
will always have much to do>. There are few con- 
gregations so placed that they are not called upon 
to relieve actual distress in the district round 
them, or to provide for some of the population 
the means of physical well-being. To neglect such 
a call is, of course, to render ineffective the ablest 
preaching of the Gospel; while the faithful dis- 
charge of duty in this direction is a great aid to 
evangelism, and, indeed, is in itself a kind of evan- 
gelism. 

(2) Man's social needs and capacities cannot 
be neglected in a wise evangelism. Dickens has 
put iQto the mouth of one of his characters a dic- 
tum that the modern mind has seized upon with 
avidity: ^* people must be amused.'' It is quite 
true that a passion for amusement has fastened 
upoB all classes of the community, till it has be- 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 213 

come almost a mania. Tlie Church must not a,t- 
tempt to cater to a diseased desire, and so accen- 
tnate one of the greatest hindrances to the canse 
of high and serious living. Yet the fact remains 
that recreation is a real need, and that the Church 
cannot ignore it in its machinery. 

Whether in the countr^^ district, where the 
'^forenichts" are long, and time hangs heavy on 
unemployed hands and brains; or in the great 
city, among the multitudes of the dwellers in 
lodging houses, who are homeless amid all the 
residences around them, there are many, who have 
*^ nothing to do'' when the hour of work is over. 
Body and brain cry out for recreation : exceeding 
loneliness yearns for happy fellowship; vacant 
minds are threatened with many perils. It is true 
that a deep and vital spiritual interest will be a 
splendid deliverance from, tedium, and that, there- 
fore, evangelism is the real means of recreation. 
But the persons under consideration have no such 
spiritual interest, and cannot be got at by direct 
evangelism. Nay, even the new life in Christ 
does not so change the constitution of man, as to 
make him independent of pure and simple plea- 
sures, or obliterate the desire for cheerful com- 
pany. The Church is bound to make room in its 
field of enterprise for the element of recreation; 
and it will be its duty to exhibit Christianity as a 
power which satisfies, while it purifies, and ele- 
vates man's social necessities. 

Many difficulties attend this department of 



214 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

work. It is fatally easy to make amusemeiit an 
end in itself, and so operate the machinery of 
the Church as to make a nominally spiritual or- 
ganism into a mere social club. It is imperative 
that the leaders of this department shall have a 
deep spiritual concern for those whom they are 
seeking to serve, and shall make the social work 
they are doing, even the brightest part of it, the 
basis of a higher appeal. 

Mental culture is a form of recreation which 
has obvious affinity with the Church's religious 
work. To awaken and develop intellectual in- 
terest is to deliver the soul from certain ignoble 
temptations, and to prepare it foir the reception 
of the highest kind of truth; while the soul that 
has been spiritually quickened will demand the 
cultivation of its noblest faculties. 

The apparatus by which these physical and so- 
cial needs are to be met will vary, of course, ac- 
cording to the nature of the community in which 
the congregation is operating, and the resources 
which it can command. 

Great Churches, like St. Bartholomew's Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church in New York City, are 
magnificently organized, and spend va,st. sums on 
a multitude of beneficent enterprises:. Churches 
far less wealthy can also do much, by skill and 
economy, to benefit their parishes, and serve the 
ends of evangelism,. Wealthy congregations 
which are not placed in necessitous districts 
should feel it a privilege to supply the apparatus 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 215 

which the down town Church: cannot provide for 
itself. It need not be feaired that those *^insti- 
tntional" featuresi— as they have come to be called 
—will injure tbe spiritnalitiy of tbe Chnrch which 
adopts them. If they are distinctly made appli- 
cations of Christianity, and if the work done by 
means of them is crowned by eaimest evangelism, 
they will be largely instrnmental in permeating 
the commmiity with a Christian spirit, winning 
sympathy for the aims and operations of the 
Christian Chnrch, and leading individuals to defi- 
nite acknowledgment of the claim of Ch.rist. 

(3) Men are not best helped when they are 
treated merely as beneficiaries under some phil- 
anthropic scheme. They will never be raised so 
long as they are regarded as passive in the hands 
of the ChiUrch worker. The finest accessory to 
evangelism will be such a systemi as stimulates 
and directs men to help themselves and their 
neighbours. The shadow that haunts ^ ^ missions, ' ' 
engineered and paid for by wealtby congrega-- 
tions^ is that they tend to be run on an eleemosy- 
nary basis. People come to them for what they 
can get out of them, and endure religious ad- 
dresses as a make weight for the benefits which 
they really can appreciate. There can be no doubt 
that a living Church,, even though it be comf)Osed 
of poor people, and have but few resourceis, is a 
far more effective instrument of evangelism than 
a ''mission," even when supported by ample 
financial backing. ''Trust the people" may, or 



216 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

may not^ be sonnd politics, but it is wise evan- 
gelism. A man is a long way toward being 
^^ saved,'' in the fullest sense of the term, when 
he has some ** saving'' work entrusted to him. 
He will learn what Christianity is when he takes 
part in some practical application of it. If it. be 
but carrying a, basket of provisions ta a necessi- 
tous family, he is tbereby being taught what th:e 
spirit of Christ is; and he may become, even un- 
consciously, himself tlie subject of itsi dealing. 
When the Gospel message is preaclied to him he 
will have tlie key toi it; and when Christ claims 
him he will be ready to reply with swift and glad 
obedience^ It is witbl evangelism as witb educa- 
tion ; it is not what people have put into them with 
a spoon, but what they can assimilate' and reproi- 
duce that is really theirs. 

Tile greatest difficulty in this connection is 
found, not in a congregation composed of people 
wbo are in; narrow circumstances, and live in a 
poor neighborhood, but in one whose f amilieis all 
live on a uniform plane of sufficient means, and 
ample comfort, and in a district^ where there is 
no element and obvious need. Even when tliose 
organizations whoise range of action is stirictly 
congregational are supplied witb workers, there 
remain scores, perhaps hundreds, of people in the 
congregation, both young and old, who are not 
serving in any definite way the ends of the 
Kingdom. Can it be wondered at that evangelism 
makes sloiW! way in such sl congregation, and that, 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 217 

as a body, it counts but little in tlie regeneirative 
forces of the community? Yet that very district^ 
so respectable and steady going, bas souls in it 
crying out for guidance, and some tbat have gone 
tragically astray from Christ. And thesei very 
people, for whom the minister cannot provide 
posts, are centres of separate worlds in which 
there is vital work to^ be done. They will be sus^ 
ceptible, individually, to the claims of the Grospel, 
when they have been led out of selfish ease, and 
have got something to do, a,s well aiS to listen to. 
Evangelism is on right lineis wheoD it uses the 
common relationships of life, and the instincts 
of mutual helpfulness which have not. been 
wholly destroyed in our common humanity, as 
preparations for, and accessories to, its own di- 
rect mode of aiction. The salvation to which it 
seeks to bring men is wrought oiut in self-sam- 
ficing service on behalf of others. Any unselfish 
service, accordingly, illustrates its nature, and 
prepareisi the way for it. 

2. Direct Evangelism. How are ministers, 
and those a,ssociated with them, to bring the Gos- 
pel to the Christless? A partial answer is given 
by pointing to the various instruments which the 
Pastor employs in the evangelism of his own con- 
gregation. These have a real value as channels 
by which the Gospel may reach those in the dis^ 
trict or the parish who have not yet entered upon 
the Christian life. A living Church is ux itself 
a great witness for Christ, and draws men to Hun 



218 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

by the ma;gnetism of its own vitality. Yet this 
answer is not complete. There is more to be done 
for the sonls that are far from Grod than to in- 
timate to them that if they come to Church they 
will hear the Gospel. Suppose they won't come 
to Church, what then? Obviously, the Church 
must go to them. It is no use scolding them for 
not coming. They must be appro'ached, wisely, 
loivingly, persuasively. Practically then, what 
steps are to be taken? 

(1) The simplest, most direicti, and moist effi- 
cient method is for each Christian man and 
woman to go personally to such souls as they can 
reach and tell them, in face-t efface intercourse, 
what God has done in Christ for the salvation 
of the world, and what Christ can do for those 
who trust Him. There can be no doubt that this 
is the most powerful evangelistic agency the world 
has ever known. It is the only sound basis of 
true and permanent evangelism. A Christian has 
not done his whole duty when he supports with 
money evangelistic operations, or even when he 
holds an office in some missionary society. He 
has also the duty of being himself the bearer of 
the Gospel, by his own personal witness, to those 
who need its gracious message. A congregation 
ought to have as many evangelists as it has mem- 
bers. It will be part of the work of the minister 
to arrange some plan of systematic personal evan- 
gelism, by which thoise who give themselves to this 
work shall find their opportunity of doing it. The 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 219 

visitation of a parish or district ought not to be 
left to the minister and his official assistants. 
It ought to be carefully subdivided among the 
members of the congregation, who should be en- 
couraged to find their sphere in loving personal 
relations to those around them. Sometimes this 
division can be made, as it were, mathematically, 
so many families being assigned to a visitor, who 
is to become, genuinely and unaffectedly, their 
friend in all the interests of their lives. Along 
with this, however, there may be something still 
more direct. The minister or leader may be able 
to direct volunteers for this service to ca,ses with 
which he considers them specially competent to 
deal. Thus relations of an entirely non-official 
character may be instituted between two persons, 
of whom one has the secret, which the other needs 
to know. All that wa,s said, some pages back, of 
the difficulties and the possibilities of individual 
soul winning is in place here. Our present point 
is that this direct personal work is the baisis of 
all organized work. The most perfect machinery 
is almost useless without it; and where the ma- 
chinery does not exist, or cannot operate, souls 
need not perish so long as this individual woirk is 
lovingly and earnestly done. We who profess 
to love Christ, and those fo^r whom He died, and 
are, perhaps, spending time and money in His 
service, ought to examine ourselves on this point. 
Are we not hiding behind our subscriptions and 
our official work? Are we not summoned by our 



220 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

fealty to come out into the open, to go among 
our fellow-men and bring tO' bear upon tihem the 
pO'Weir for which we are above all responsible, viz., 
that of personal testimony? It, is certain that this 
is our duty. Yfhere such personal work is being 
done, all other work, larger and less personal, 
becomeis more effective. 

(2) Various methods of what is sometimes 
called ^ ^ aggressive evangelism" will suggest 
themeslves when a careful study of the circum- 
stances and conditions of the people has been 
made. One simple rule regulates all sucb work, — 
where the people are, go to them with, the Grospel. 
A few women in a, kitchen, a group of operators 
at the noon hour in a shop or factory, men at the 
mine mouth or in a bunk house, the frequenters 
of a saloon, the audience in a, theatre, the crowds 
in a park in summer time, the throngs in the 
streets, the sojourners in shelters or lodging 
houses, these constitute the souls whom we can 
never reach, unless we gO' to them and bring them 
what they have not, and will not come tO' us to 
get. The modern Church is becoming daily more 
instructed and more skilful in aggressive work 
of this sort. It is hard work, and makes large de- 
mands for courage, patience, good humor, tact, 
and kindness. It calls f ot far more workers than 
are at present engaged in it. It presents a great 
field for our bravest and best. Opportunities 
for highest heroism, and utmost constancy, await 
on every hand the gallant and the high spirited. 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 221 

Soanetimes tJie ^'romance of foreagD missions '' 
is spoken of; and the hardness of the seirvice in 
heathen lands attracts onr nohlest Christian yonng 
men and women. The glory of foreign service 
will never diminish ; but the splendor and the pas- 
sion of the Home Mission onght more and more 
to fill the heart of the Church. A congregation 
which is not employed in some phase of active 
evangelism is cutting itself oH from high privi- 
lege, and denying itself access to- unique joy and 
strength. 

Once more we note the peculiar disadvantages 
of the *^up-town" Church. It is not confronted 
with the situation presented in teeming centres of 
population, and finds it difficult to cross in imagi- 
nation the gulf fixed between wealth and poverty. 
Something, however, it may dot. It may form 
itself into a kind of recruiting station, whence 
volunteers may be sent to the aid of those congre^ 
gations which stand, as it were, on the firing line. 
Besides this, it has a duty toward the district in 
which it is placed. There are Christless souls 
there, as in the down town region; and to evan- 
gelize them is a task of heart-breaking perplexity. 
It takes nerve to face a crowd of working men, 
most of them socialist and anti-Church; yet not 
nearly so much a,s to face a company of the 
*^ golden youth'' of the upper class, whose main 
interest is pleasure, and the occupation of some 
of whom may be vice. It is comparatively easy 
to assemble an audience among the poor ; but how 



222 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

to get the rich together to Hear the Gospel is a 
problem that has driven many an earnest minis- 
ter well nigh to despair. Yet the message mnst 
be delivered, and that Chnrch separates itself 
from the sonrce of its o^wn spiritual vitality which 
declines the task. Probably hints to a solution 
are to be got most readily from the rich them- 
selves. They are not all Christians. Some are 
ia the Kingdom. They found it hard to get there. 
They could tell the minister how best to help the 
men of their cla,ss. The type of meeting which 
succeeds among working men could scarcely be 
held among men of a different culture. 

The formal address might be reduced to a min- 
imum. The element of appeal might scarcely be 
present. What is wanted, first of all at any rate, 
is toi get as close to the consciousness of the man 
of means, to whom the world is so, satisfactory a 
place, as to that of thoise whose lives are hard. 
Mutual confidence between the avowed Christian 
and the man of the world is difficult to establish, 
more so even than between the minister and the 
working man. Yet there is a platform of com- 
mon humanity and common courtesy whereon the 
man who as yet has made the world his choice 
may meet the witness for a world not measurable 
by time and space, whose values are not those of 
money or of any purchasable commodity. Such 
meetings for conference, held in club house or 
drawing-room, might lead the way to a frank and 
full statement of the claims of Christ, which would 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 223 

appeal to those whom ease and comfort have 
misled as to the meaning of life. 

Difficulties abound; but, whatever their num- 
ber or intensity, nothing relieves the Church of 
its duty of evangelism. Whether men be rich or 
poor, they have but one Redeemer and Lord. 

(3) There will come times in the progress of 
Church evangelism when the usual and stated 
work may be supplemented by a continuous and 
sustained effort of a special kind. It ought to 
be very clearly understood, however, that this spe- 
cial effort stands vitally related to the whole evan- 
gelistic labor of the Church, and, more widely 
still, to the Christian life of all the members of 
the Church. It is true that God might send to a 
supine and unprepared Church a prophet voice 
to rouse it out of sleep. But. it will bei a. fatal 
presumption on the goodness of God to imagine 
that the ^'special effort" and the visit of the itin- 
erant evangelist can take the place of faithful 
evangelism, steadily carried on year by year, with 
ever increasing use of new opportunities and in- 
struments. The special effort must come as a 
climax of a long and earnest fulfilment of the 
twofold duty of work and prayer. In evangelism, 
as in the moral life generally, the principle holds 
good, that to those who have shall be given, and 
to them the abundant of fruit will come. 

(a) Such a time of special evangelism may 
coime in the course of a congregation's activities. 
It will be the part of the minister, and of those 



224 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

who, by their position, are most capable of feeling 
the pulse of the congregation, and of discerning 
the progress of the Gospel in the district., toi say 
when, in tbe providence of God, such a season is 
drawing on. They will be wise not to hurry into 
such an enterprise:. They will need to* give weight 
to many considerations, e. g., the number of those 
in the congregation who have the burden of souls 
laid upon them, and of those who are manifesting 
spiritual concern; the spiritual quality of the 
meetings for public worship; the evidence that 
the preaching of the Word is being made effect- 
ive for conviction and conversion; the earnest- 
ness and activity of the workers ; the measure of 
success they have had in winning the sympathy 
of individuals and of the community at large. 
Sometimes the flowing of the spiritual tide will 
indicate the season for heightened activity. 
Sometimes an ontbreak of hostility will strike 
the hour for a marshalling of forces and an ad- 
vance in full strength. 

When such a season of special opportunity 
seems to be drawing on, it behooves the congre- 
gation to bestir itself and make careful prepara- 
tion. The ordinances of public worship must be 
more devoutly observed. The minister's preach- 
ing must gain in depth, simplicity, and fervour. 
There must be an increase of activity in all the 
departments of congregational and evangelistic 
work. Prayeir must abound. Personal work must 
redouble its affectionate zeial. Details connected 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 225 

with the fortlicoming services must be attended 
to) with foresight and bnsiness-like accuracy. All 
who volunteer for work must be carefully in- 
structed in their duties. Arrangements must be 
made that the special season be followed, not by 
diminished but by renewed and increased activ- 
ity; and in particular the Christian nurture of 
those who, it is expected, will be won by the 
preaching, must receive serious and practical 
consideration. 

The whole congregation must be permeated 
by one purpose, and filled with one expectation. 
Such matters as these are the really efficient fac- 
tors in the success of special evangelism. Some- 
times an exaggerated importance is attached to 
the question of the man who is to be the speaker; 
and requests are sent to the ends of the earth 
for some noted evangelist. Where there has been 
due preparation, the brilliance of the orator need 
not greatly concern us. When the meeting is as- 
sembled in the atmosphere of loyal dependence 
upon God, the address is sure to be powerful, if 
only it proclaim Christ as the Saviour, simply 
and plainly. It will, of course, lend some fea- 
tures of interest if a gifted stranger can be se^ 
cured as speaker. But the minister himself will 
be the best evangelist of the district which he 
knows as no stranger can. He can best gather 
the harvest who ha,s sowed the seed. It is much 
to be desired that ministers should ^^ magnify 
their office,'' by stirring up the gift that is in 

15 



226 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

tliem, and themseilves doing the work of an evan- 
gelist at tJiese special seasons. They will have 
much to leiarn, no doubt.. But they will gain in 
efficiency as they proceed; and they need not 
doubt Grod, because they distrust themselves. 

The ministry of the Canadian Churches 
abounds in undeveloped powers of evangelism. 

The results of such evangelism in the reviv- 
ing of the Church, and in the ingathering of those 
that are without, are not in human hands, ajid 
are not to be predicted before the event, or tabu- 
lated after it. But they are as sure as the faith- 
fulness of God. The excellency of the powier is 

of God (tov ®eov) and not of us (Kat firj ei rjfx^v), 

and therefore it can not fail. 

(b) Such a season of special opportunity might 
come also to a group of congregations which are 
associated in common work. In Churches of the 
Presbyterian order, the Presbytery is charged 
with the spiritual oversight of the congregations 
within its bounds. The Presbytery instructed by 
ministers, and led, it may be, by a comimittee 
specially appointed in the interests of evangel- 
ism, might decide thati the time had come when 
the congregations should co-operate in making a 
joint appeal to the community, and seeking to 
win those who were not yet followers of Christ 
by a united evangelistic effort. The method might 
be that of simultaneous work, in which all the 
congregations might act at the same time ; or the 
territory might be subdivided and the work be 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 227 

carried on in each division successively. Valua- 
ble suggestions regarding tlie conduct of such a 
' ^ campaign, ' ^ as it is someitimes called, may be 
found in the appendices, which have been pre- 
pared by Dr. Shearer, secretary of the Commit- 
tee on Evangelism, appointed by the General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. 
The point which may be emphasized here is the 
necessity of due preparation for such an eif ort. 
Far better not make the effort at all, than enter 
on it rashly and inconsiderately. Congregations 
must be separately invited to consider the: needs 
of the community and the Church's duty of evan- 
gelism. Their oiwn activities must be quickened. 
They can not expect to benefit by, or be service- 
able in, a work of which they know nothing by 
practical experience. Their relations to one an- 
other must be made closer and more fraternal. 
They can not work together in the cause of the 
Gospel if they are not in full mutual sympathy. 
If there have been rivalries or antipathies, these 
must be overcome in common confession and mu- 
tual fellowship, if they are to be used of God in 
this matter. There must be careful training of 
those who are to take part in the work. Time spent 
in holding conferences of ministers and their help- 
ers is never wasted. Those who are to act together 
must think together on the problem before them, 
must make clear and definite their common aim, 
and must agree on at least the broad lines of their 
common action. Every kind of detail must be 



228 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

attended with as complete provision as possible. 
The amomit and variety of this kind of work, 
and the time and energy required to do it thor- 
oughly, are sometimes not fully understood even 
by those who are eager for the campaign. Inad- 
equate arrangements as to such seemingly secu- 
lar matters, as finance, advertisement, transpor- 
tiation, etc., may greatly diminish the spiritual 
results of the work. The clank of machinery 
OTight to be as little heard as possible in the ac- 
tual conduct of the campaign. 

Above all. Christian people must give them- 
selves to prayer. The congregations must be or- 
ganized for prayer. Individuals must be encour- 
aged and guided in their intercessions. The faith 
and hope and love of Christian people must be 
concentrated, in the energy of prayer, upon the 
progress of God's Kingdom, and the definite en- 
trance into it of individuals who are as yet 
outside its gracious dominion. If the prepara- 
tion be thorough and spiritual, the blessing can 
not fail to come ; nay, in the process of prepara- 
tion the blessing has begun already. Much will 
depend on those who are to be the preachers of 
the Gospel and the leaders ini the work. All that 
we learn from the New Testament regarding the 
moral and spiritual qualities of men whom God 
can use in the ministry of the Word, must be 
insisted on when selection is made of the evan- 
gelists for the approaching campaign. 

It is terrible to reflect that men may possess 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 229 

some of the intellectual qualities wMcli make for 
success in evangelism, who are sadly deficient in 
vital godliness, and in experience of divine things. 
A committee, anxious to secure a ^ ^ successful' ' 
evangelist, may neglect to inquire as to his re- 
ligious and moral character. Such heedlessness 
may issue in bitter disappointment, perhaps even 
in open scandal. 

Men experienced in this kind of evangelism 
are, of course, to be sought. But even if such 
men can not be secured, at least for every point 
within the territory to- be occupied, the campaign 
need not lose much, if any, of its power. Once 
more, let us point out the value of pastoral evan- 
gelism. Ministers who are steadily doing the 
work of evangelists in their own congregations 
and parishes are getting a splendid preparation 
for this special work. In the Church at large 
there ought to be no minister who is not fit, when 
the call comes to go as ^^missioner," to take his 
part in some special work of evangelism. The 
gifts and qualities which he is exercising, and the 
experience of preaching and personal work which 
he is gaining in the fulfilment of his ordinary 
duty, are precisely those which will enable him 
to answer this special call. 

Committees on the outlook for evangelists 
will find in a Church, which is living up to its 
primary function of evangelism, no lack of men 
competent for the work. It is to be feared that 
committees on evangelism have aggravated the 



230 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

evil tJiey complain of, and have increaiSed tlie 
deartli of fit men in the Church by somewhat 
pointedly going past the minister to seek some 
^^professional" evangelist of wide reputation. 
Such men are neceissarily few, and the forward 
movementis in evangelism can not all be supplied 
by them. The function of the Church and of 
every minister is evangelism; and evangelism it- 
self is the best training for evangelistic work. 
Fidelity is preparation for, and is rewarded by, 
larger opportunity and special usefulness. 

(c) There may come times when the various 
Churches in a community which have each sep- 
arate organization as a ^^denomination'' (detest^ 
able phrase! the apostle Paul must find it un- 
fathomably stupid!) are led to believe that ai 
movement of evangelism^ is demanded, by the call 
and the providence of God, on ai scale which far 
exceeds their individual capacities and resources. 
Then the ^^ campaign" method receives a great 
extension, and the effort becomes correspondingly 
elaborate. Sometimies the movement is one of 
evangelism by a man of great eminence, whom all 
the Churches unite to support and honoir in his 
mighty labor. It was in this way that the mis- 
sions led by Mr. Moody were conducted. By 
means of men raised up, as Moody wa,s, to do 
this work, communities have undoubtedly been 
moved to their very depths. It is obvious, how- 
ever, tha,t this can not be the only method. Even 
in the hands of a man of outstanding gifts, though 



THE SPHEEES OF EVANGELISM 231 

supported by the earnest and united efforts of all 
the Churches, there is one plain defect. No com- 
munity above the size of a small town can be 
completely reached by a series of meetings held 
in one building, however large. Sincerely Chris- 
tian people naturally desire to be present to hear 
again and again the Gospel they love. There is 
besides a floating population of cranks and nonde- 
scripts and curiosity hunters, always keenly de- 
sirous of a new sensation, and quite capable of 
filling the entire auditorium, thus wasting the 
evangelist's time and excluding those for whom 
the message is intended. How to keep such peo^ 
pie out and to bring in those whom the movement 
seeks to reach, is a problem which might well 
make the wisest despair. To correct a defect such 
as this, a method, with which the name of Dr. 
Wilbur Chapman is specially connected, has been 
used with great hope of valuable result. It is 
peculiarly adapted to great centres of population. 
The modern city is a kind of universe in itself. 
It contains various classes, groups, or ' ' crowds ; ' ' 
while, notwithstanding, it has an almost personal 
unity, with a conscience which may be awakened, 
and a will that may be roused to action. How to 
reach the City, in itiS variety and in its unity, by 
a special Gospel appeal, is a problem of immense 
practical difficulty. The method referred to pro- 
ceeds by a careful subdivision of the field. Dis- 
tricts of suitable size are selected, and in each of 
these a building, whether Church, theatre, or hall, 



232 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

is appointed as the centre of evangelistic work. 
The danger attendant on the large mass meeting 
for the whole city, viz., swamping the movement 
by sensation lovers, is thns in great measure 
avoided. Further, the different groups of which 
the city is composed are approached in ways 
which seem appropriate to their distinctive char- 
acteristics. So far as is practicable, the Gospel 
is to be preached to every class, and to every indi- 
vidual, within the season during which the mis- 
sion lasts. The city a^s such, both, as a. whole, and 
in its classes, and in its individual elements, is 
to be confronted with the Gospel, both as a gra- 
cious invitation and as a. sovereign claim. 

An enterprise so immense and so elaborate 
ought only to' be undertaken when there is a clear 
call to make it, and when there has been the most 
conscientious preparation for it. Haste and heed- 
lessness would mean humiliating defeat in the 
present^ and would render evangelism in the city 
more difficult for years after. Certain of the re- 
quired steps in preparation are obvious. (1) 
There must be unanimity among the evangelical 
Churches of the city. ^^ Denominations^' must 
learn to lay aside their differences. Th.ey must 
coi-operate before, during, and after thei campaign. 
They must be loyal to' one anotheir. None must 
have its o-wn axe to grind on the wheel of evan- 
gelism. None must attempt to make denomina- 
tional hay while the sun of revival shines. They 
must absolutely know no'thing in this work save 



THE SPHERES OP EVANGELISM 233 

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified; and they must 
be crucified with Him. (ii) They must be pre^ 
pared to pay the price. The cost in money will 
be very great. The cost in time and effort will 
be incalculable. The cost in interoessary prayer, 
and wrestling with God, in self-examination and 
se]f -mortification, and in self-denial of every sort, 
will be beyond anything the Churches have ever 
known. The evil spirits that haunt the city go 
not out but by prayer and fasting, (iii) Every 
matter of business connected with the campaign 
must be cared for with minute accuracy. Noth- 
ing must be left to the hurry of the moment. A 
little reflection will shew that the mass of detail 
is enormous. Military enterprises have been 
wrecked for want of readiness in little things, 
though the generals were skilled and the soldiers 
brave. A great campaign of evangelism depends 
for its success on little things, and may in large 
measure be defeated, though evangelists be able 
and workers devoted. Especially must all finan- 
cial arrangements be placeid on a business foot- 
ing. In particular, the payment of special agent,s 
must be clearly understood. The public will not 
object to the payment of salaries, even large ones, 
to evangelists, but it will be justly suspicious of 
secrecy in respect to them, and will denounce any 
money making by the evangelists in connection 
with their work. If profits are made, for instance, 
by the sale of hymn books or other literature, 
the public has a right to know how they are dis- 



234 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

posed of. The committee in charge has every- 
thing to gain by frankness, and may lose disas- 
trously by concealment, (iv) The conduct of the 
campaign requires an administrative head, and 
a strong executive. Much of the succeiss that will 
follow this type of evangelism will depend on men 
whose voices may never be heard on a public plat- 
form, whose veiry names may scarcely be known, 
who, nevertheless, in their diligence and self-sac- 
rifice, are sustaining a large part of the burden 
of the enterprise, and are doing work indispensa- 
ble to its prosecution. To them are due the unity 
of plan, the balance and ha,rmony of detail, the 
steadiness of progress, without which the move- 
ment musit fail, and the campaign break up into 
a series of skirmishes, possibly brilliant, but 
wholly ineifective for the end in view, (v) The 
selection of agents is a matter of profound con- 
cern. Expert workers of very varied kinds will 
be wanted for prisons, for saloons., and for places 
more dreadful still, speakers specially gifted in 
open-air work, or for noon-hour meetings, men 
who are peculiarly fitted to speak to particular 
classes of working men, e. g.y railway men, wo-men 
workers to reach those who can best be reached 
by a woman's voice and influence, singers and 
musicians who can be trusted to employ ai con- 
secrated gift in the service of the Gospel, a,s well 
as the preachers who are to occupy the selected 
stations throughout the city. The resources of 
all the Churches will need to be drawn upon to 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 235 

their utmost; and lielp will, no doubt, need to be 
sought beyond their limits. In a, great enteirprise 
of this sort^ what is wanted is genuine, God given, 
consecrated power, whether it be resident in or- 
dained or unordained, lay or clerical, man or 
woman; and it must be sought for wherever it 
exists, and employed if it be available. 

Such requirements as these present difficulties 
of no ordinary kind. They will baffle! the unbe- 
lieving and the half-hearted. But immense though 
they be, they are not toiO' great for God, and for 
those who trust Him. They are to be met in faith 
and uncea,sing prayer. 

It can not be doubted that the call of an en- 
terprise so mighty may come, under the guidance 
of the Lord and Master, to the- Churches of a city. 
When the call does come, when it is obeyed in 
faith, and the work is carried through with wis- 
dom and devotion, the result can not fail to be to 
the glory of God. It must be remembered, how- 
ever, that in the case of the city, as of the indi- 
vidual, the real value of the work done consists, 
not in secondairy phenomena, but in permianent 
moral effects, and these can be tested only in the 
process of time. Tabulation of resultiS immedi- 
ately after such a mission is sure to be mislead- 
ing. The real issues can not be seien of men till 
after many days. "What they are in God's sight 
must be left to His unerring judgment. 

One thing, above all, is to be carefully borne 
in mind. An effort of this sort, even when splen- 



236 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

didly conducted, and nobly rewarded, so far as 
men can judge, is not the whole of evangelism. 
There must have been faithful evangelism before 
it, else it can not be undertaken with any hope of 
success. There must be faithful evangelism after 
it, else it will pass away and leave no^ result, ex- 
cept a disappointiiig slackness in work, a, deadly 
dullness of spiritual life, and a weak craving for 
a new religious excitement. The real *^ cam- 
paign '^ is far greater than the effort to which 
this title has been applied. Evangelism is to be 
co-extensive with the whole existence and activity 
of the Church. Into that steady and unremitting 
evangelism this special effort fits, as correlated 
with it, gathering up its prolonged activities and 
giving stimulus to its energies. Those who come 
from beyond the Churches engaged in this special 
effort do not take precedence of those who are 
doing in that city the daily work of evangelism. 
They are not more than the helpers of those who, 
in long unrecorded years, have borne the burden 
and heat of the day. Those whom such men come 
to help will greatly honor them,. But they, on 
their part^ if they be of the right spirit, will pay 
still greater honor to the unnoticed toilers who 
do the work of evangelists in lifelong fidelity, 
and will carefully avoid any word or deed which 
could make their task the harder. Evangelism 
never faileth. Special efforts may fail, and the 
recollection of them vanish away. But two things 



THE SPHERES OF EVANGELISM 237 

remain; three things can not be forgotten: the 
exceeding need of siof ul men ; the exceeding love 
of God in Christ; the duty of the Church and of 
every Christian to preach the Gospel to every 
creature. 



CHAPTER III 

TRAINING FOR EVANGELISM 

Evangelism is required of every Christian. It 
is a task so important and so difficult that train- 
ing for it is indispensable. The congregation, a,s 
we have already seen, is a real training school 
for evangelism; and the paistor, among his mani- 
fold dutiies, can not neglect this, of training his 
people generally, and his special helpers in par- 
ticular, for their evangelistic labors. 

Obviously this work of the pastor might be 
supplemented by more systematic training, e. g., 
in Sunday school work. The modem Church has 
seen the expediency of this and is giving more 
and more attention to it. 

The task of evangelism, however, demands 
agents tio whom it shall be a life-work, who shall 
give their whole time and strength to thei Church 
as its representatives and instiruments, and who 
shall be employed and supported by the Church. 
It is plain that such agents must receive tra,in- 
ing. A genuine experience of religion, and a 
sound moral character are of course absolutely 
indispensable. But these alone will not enable 

238 



TRAINING FOR EVANGELISM 239 

a mian or woman to do the work the Cliiiroh re- 
quires. Special gifts are needed, and these must 
be discovered and developed in special training. 
Questions arise in this connection of so detailed 
and technical a nature that they require separate 
treatment^ and can not be discussed in these 
pages. Certain aspects of the whole problem, 
however, may be at least mentioned here. 

I. The classes of agents required. Among 
these, the first place belongs to the pastor. He is, 
as we have seen, the evangelist of his congrega- 
tion. There is no* more effective evangelism than 
thait which he has the opportunity of doing m 
the various line-s of his pastoral work. The min- 
ister is the Church's evangelist in chief; and for 
this, his principal work, he must receive adequate 
training. In the increasing complecxity of modem 
life, specialism is required in every kind of work 
and evangelism can not escape this necessity. 
There is a work of evangelism among children 
which requires special gifts. There is a work of 
evangelism for young men which falls specially 
to the Young Men's Christian Association. There 
is a work of evangelism to be done through the 
media of the institutional feature>s of a modern 
Church. In some cities societies for evangeliza,- 
tion exist in alliance and co^-operation with the 
Churches. Certain classes in modern civilization 
are so distinct that an evangelism suited to their 
particular type is needed, e. g., soldiers, sailors, 
railway men, and different kinds of operatives. 



240 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

Workinig men geneirally, as well as other groups 
or ** crowds" in the commuiiity, may well be ap- 
proiacheid on certain distinctive lines. 

There are also special forms of evangelistic 
work wanted in connection with classes whose 
need is definite and peicnliar, e, g., in slum dis- 
tricts oir in prisons. There is alsoi ^^rescne" work 
among the fallen. As there is thus a manifold 
evangelism, so many different kinds of evangel- 
ists are required. Many of the workers will be 
women. But woman's work is in itself a highly 
specialized form of service, and needs a training 
peculiar to itself. 

The point to be insisted on is that all these 
activities are branches of evangelism, aspects of 
the function of the Christian Church ; and there- 
fore, that all the workers in these departments 
are agents of the Church, doing the Church's 
work, deserving the Church's, recognition, and re- 
quiring the Church's help to train them for their 
respective tasks. The modern Church knows well 
its need of such workers, but it ha,s scarcely yet 
learned to give them their due place in its. organ- 
ization, and tioi recognize them all as, in their 
diiferent vocations, evangelists and ministers of 
Christ and His Church. And it has still to grap- 
ple with! the question of their preparation for 
service. 

II. Methods of training. These may be thus 
distinguished: 1. The training common tO' all 
evangelistic workers. Let it be remembered that 



TKAININO FOE EVANGELISM 241 

all the workers mentioned are to do the work of 
evangelistiS, and must be trained accordingly. It 
is admitted on all hands that a minister needs in- 
struction in the Bible and in Christian doctrine. 
But it seems to be held that a Yonng Men's Chris- 
tian Association secretary, for instance, does not 
need special training on these subjects. It is 
enongh if he get a special training in secretarial 
work, and in general business methods. This is 
surely a great mistake; and is probably one rea- 
son why so many Young Men's Christian Associ- 
ation secretaries leaive the work and give their 
services to Insurance Companieis or other busi- 
ness concerns which are willing toi pay high sala- 
ries for men of probity and capacity. The Young 
Men's Christian Association secretary whO' is not 
making his office the instrument of an earnest 
evangelism ought not to be in office at all. And 
if he is to serve as an evangelist, he ought to be 
trained as one. It is surely manifest that all kinds 
of evangelistic workers ought to receive train- 
ing, as thorough as possible, in the following de- 
partments: (i) The Bible. A knowledge of it, 
that is both intellectual and spiritual, is obviously 
iadispensable. Not a 'Hit bits" Bible, but the 
Bible as a whole, in its full scope, as the record 
of God's revelation of grace, (ii) Christian doc- 
trine. A knowledge of the truths regarding God 
and man, which are implied in the Gospel, and an 
ability to state them, clearly, both defensively and 
constructively, is not less necessary for those 

16 



242 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

whose main business is to be to preach: the Gos- 
pel, (iii) Evangelism. Such topics as have been 
presented in these pages must form the subject 
of careful instruction to those who are to be 
evangelists. The teaching of the New Testar 
ment, the lessons of history, the conditions of 
modern society, must be well understood by all 
who are going to the world with the message of 
salvation. Such training ought not to- be left to 
institutions separate from the Church, and un- 
controlled by it. It ought to be provided by the 
Church as an element in a broad and compre^ 
hensive scheme of the education and preparation 
of all whom it seeks to have in its service. 

2. The training required by specialists. Those 
who have highly specialized work toi do must be 
specially trained for it. This is already recog- 
nized by the Young Men's Christian Association, 
which has training colleges for its secretaries. 
Other kinds of work require special knowledge, 
e. g,, of economic and sociological facts and laws. 
There is an obvious danger in this conne<5tioii 
of over specialization. Therefore, the special 
training must be given in connection with that 
training which is necessary for workers of every 
class. It ought, accordingly, to have its place in' 
the whole educational policy and machinery of 
the Church. Above all, it ought to 'be brought 
into definite relation with evangelism, and be ex- 
hibited as a means to the perfecting of evangel- 
istic efficiency. 



TEAINING FOR EVANGELISM 243 

3. The training required by candidates for the 
ministry. These men are entering upon the high- 
est and most exacting calling open to any human 
being. Their qualifications, intellectual, moral, 
and spiritual, must be of the very highest order. 
The utmost the Church can do for them in pro- 
viding a broad culture, and competent scholar- 
ship, can not be too much for men who are to 
be exponents of the Christian faith to the modern 
world. The curriculum of a Divinity School is 
not sacrosanct. It must be subject to constant 
scrutiny. But nothing must be done to lower the 
educational standard of the ministry in the mod- 
em Church. The maintenance of a high standard 
of culture is not to be pressed in the interests 
of the soHcalled educated classes. Education is 
not now, and will be less and less, the perquisite 
of an elect few. The modern, ministry is. exer- 
cised in a community composed for the most part 
of educated people. The highest attainments, ac- 
cordingly, in general culture, and in Biblical learn- 
ing, are not too high for those who are to exer- 
cise their ministry in any class of modern society. 
At the same time all the education of the min- 
istry must be governed by one principle, viz., that 
of functional efficiency. Nothing is permissible 
in any school to which the Churcli invites men 
to come foir training which does not serve the 
ends of ministerial efficiency. Among all the func- 
tions of the ministry that which stands highest 
is evangelism. Therefore, training for evangel- 



244 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

ism must rank first in tJie aims and purposes of 
the Divinity School. 

At present ^^ practical training" is usually 
treated as an addition to the proper work of the 
school, and holds a precarious places in the curric- 
ulum. A more grotesque perversion of what 
ought to be pre-eminent in a Church Training 
School could scarcely be imaigined. There is no 
other end to be pursued in any part of the curric- 
ulum than that of equipping men for their great 
work of preaching Christ The problem of the 
curriculum is a mare magnum, upon which the 
unwary love to embark their shallops, and from 
which the experienced shrink as knowing its per- 
ils. Without venturing from the shore we may 
indicate the main routes of travel. 

(1) Studies required of all candidates for the 
ministry. Exegesis, Christian Doctrine, and 
Church History are indispensable for all who 
are set as witnesses to the Gospel. Studies in 
these departments must have a central place in 
the curriculum, must be carried on in the most 
thorough way, and must be permeated by an in- 
tensely *^ practical" spirit. They are meant to 
converge, and they must be made to converge, 
in the actual work of the daiSses, upon the great 
aim of the ministry— the proclamation of a full 
Gospel. 

(2) Studies necessary for different branches 
of ministerial work. It would be easy to err by 
over division of the field, and superabundance of 



TRAINING FOE EVANGELISM 245 

options. Yet ministeirial work does present 
broadly marked divisions, in any one of which 
a man might find his whole life work. It may 
be expected, therefore, that men might choose 
their special vocation very early in their coriirse 
of study, or even before entering the seminary. 
Three such divisions may be mentioned by way 
of illustration : 

(a) The work of the Home Field, particularly 
as it presents itself in the modem City. The sub- 
jects which emerge in this connection aire many 
and complex, and require careful investigation. 
Not without hard reading and deep thinking can 
a man become an able Home Mission Minister. 
The seminary must provide him with the guid- 
ance he needs in his chosen field, (b) The For- 
eign Mission. This invites some of our very best 
men. It is for the sake of it that they come to 
the college at all. Yet as a rule they get little 
help toward their life work, except perhaps a few 
lectures on the history of missions. ^^Coimpara/- 
tive religion" is regarded as a branch of Apolo- 
getic; but the student gets little opportunity of 
entering upon it; and the missionary interest is 
apt to be lost in the scientific. 

In reality. Foreign Mission work is a great 
field of study. Great books exist, which, besideis 
the special infoirmation they contain, form a 
splendid mental discipline, and indeed afford a 
very wide culture. Men who are to give their 
lives to the work ougjit to gain in the training 



246 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

school abundant and carefully arranged help for 
their great vocation, (c) Educational work. It 
is not necessary, it would not be suitable^ and in 
any case it is impossible to treat all the students 
of divinity as though they were to occupy pro- 
fessorial chairs, or to be specialists in some de- 
partment of Biblical learning. But the Church 
does need scholars. The more she has in the 
ranks of the ordinary ministry the better. Men 
are wanted who shall keep themselveS' abreast 
of the literature of some chosen branch of study. 
They must be ready to give to the Church the re- 
sults of their studies when occasion arises, such 
as the emergence of some great doctrinal prob- 
lem in the light of some fresh advance of knowl- 
edge. From the ranks of such men the Church 
will naturally draw her Professors and Teachers. 
For studentiS who have a real capacity for ad- 
vanced work the curriculum must make ample pro- 
vision. In this department., as in the others, the 
spirit of evangelism must prevail. The Church 
does not desire scholars who have forgotten the 
great function of the ministry; and tO' put men 
into Professors' chairs who are careless in re- 
gard to it would involve unspeakable calamity. 
The ^^ practical" aim must be preserved in the 
highest scholarship and the most technical 
lea,ming. 

(3) Direct training in evangelism. The min- 
ister must share in the studies required for all 
evangelistic workers, pursuing them with greater 



TKAININa FOR EVANGELISM 247 

completeness. The New Testament., the History 
of the Church, and the Conditions of the Modem 
Church must all be studied from the point of view 
provided by the function of evangelism. He will 
need help specially in three directions: 

(ai) The presentation of the Gospel in sermon 
and address. How many sermons are essays, or 
disquisitions, or studies in criticism^ or endeav- 
ours after new theology! And, sometimes, when 
the young minister attempt,s an ' ' evangelistic ad- 
dress," or '^simple Goispel sermon, '^ the result is 
not even rose-water! How to convey the mes- 
sage of salvation with such fulness of statement 
and powerr of appeal as shall reach the hearts 
of men in all ranks of life— this surely is worthy 
of time and care even in the most crowded curric- 
ulum. 

(b) The conduct of the various modes of evan- 
gelistic agency in the Church. Men must learn 
the business of evangelism by evangelizing. But 
there is a certain amount of help to be got from 
study of methods as they are delineated in books, 
and better still, as they may be witnessed in ac- 
tual operation. The student of engineering often 
leaves the class room and proceeds to observe 
the conduct of soime great piece of construction 
work. The man in training for evangelism^ in 
like manner, must often pass from the cla,ss lec- 
ture to the institutional Church of the ^'doiwn 
town'' mission, and see the instruments of evan- 
gelism in actual operation. 



248 NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM 

(c) Personal work. The qualities necessary 
for this work can noit be imparted by man, and 
skill in it can not be learned from any human in- 
structor. Yet much may be don^ to give real help 
in this, the most important and most sa,cred part 
of evangelism, (i) The Bible may be considered 
from the point of view of its guidance of the soul 
Godward. (ii) Cases of conversion may be stud- 
ied as they are found in the Scriptures and in 
biography, (iii) The varying phases of religious 
experience may be investigated not with any pre- 
tense at exhaustiveness, but for suggestion and 
illustration of the manifold need of man and the 
manifold grace of God. Such studies can best be 
carried on in classes of comparatively small size, 
and by the method of conference rather than of 
lecture. In any case they must be penetrated by 
an earneist spirit, and must be steeped in the at- 
mosphere of prayer. 

The problem of securing such a training for 
ministers and for all evangelistic workers, as has 
been thus sketched in outline, is one of immense 
difficulty. It deserves careful and prolonged 
study. The educational policy of the Church can 
not be settled by the ha,zard of a few speeches in 
the Assembly. The point insisted on here is that 
the Church must undeirtake with new intelligence 
and zeal itiS great work of evangelism, that it re- 
quires workers of trained skill, and that, there- 
fore, it must provide for them the kind of educa- 
tion which will fit them for their life work. The 



TRAININa FOE EVANGELISM 249 

Cliiircb is called on to frame its policy, and tO' pay 
tor giving it practical shape. 

When this is done, hoiwefver, it is still to) be re^ 
membered that there is a preparation for evan- 
gelism which is not carried on at stated times 
and in separate institutions, but in the hearts of 
Christian men and women. When the members 
of the Church bind upon their consciences the 
duty of evangelism, when they consecrate them- 
selves to its fulfilment in profound sympathy 
with the Eedeeaner of men, and when they are 
themselves living witnesses of the Gospel they 
preach; then, and only then, is the Church ready 
to be used by its Head and Lord in winning the 
world to Himself. 



CONCLUSION 

It lias been contended througlioiit these pages 
that the Church's duty is evangelism, that the 
results are with God, and that the duty must be 
faithfully and joyously performed, whether or not 
the results be such as men can estimate. In clos- 
ing, let us remind ourselves that the gains of 
evangelism are many and most precious. They 
are such as these: 

(1) In the Church, (a) The deepening of spir- 
itual life, as the issue of growing sympathy with 
God, and a fuller knowledge of the Saviour to 
whom testimony is borne, (b) A clearer per- 
ception of Christian truth, gained through faith- 
ful endeavor to present it in its direct application 
to human need, and leading to a doctrinal state- 
ment at once clear and definite, (c) Increase in 
the spirit of Christian unity. When ^^denomi- 
nations ' ' agree that their one errand to any com- 
munity is evangelism, ^^denoiminationalism'' will 
be regarded as a shameful sin, dishonoring God, 
and hindering His cause. Whether '^deuomina- 
tionalism'' can be extinguished so long as '' de- 
nominations ' ' exist is worth more than a little 
thought. In any casei, there can be no question 

250 



CONCLUSION 251 

as to the sinfulness of denominational rivalry, 
and none as to the power of earnest evangelism 
to abolish unchristian separation. 

(2) In the world, (a) The disarming of criti- 
cism. The world has a perfect right to ask what 
the Church is ^'good for." The Church that is 
not '^good for" evangelism is ^'good for noth- 
ing." Criticism, directed on the one hand to 
sterility and self-indulgence, and on the other 
to excitement and sensation mongering, is best 
met by steadfast witneiss to Christ. Evangelism 
demands absolute surrender of self, as well as 
entire sanity on the part of the preacher. A lov- 
ing and wise evangelism is the Church's only 
perfect answer to hostile criticism, (b) The awak- 
ening of the moral conscience of the community. 
Christ is the conscience of the race. When He 
is preached, the world is convicted of sin, of right- 
eousness, and of judgment. The best way of 
preaching to the times is to preach Christ, (c) A 
movement from the world Godward. This will 
certainly come from Him who is sovereign in 
providence and in grace. On what scale, or with 
what outward demonstration the Church may 
not be able to predict. Her prayer ascends to 
God for it. Her sacrifice of labor is devoted to 
it Meantime, the joy of the Lord is her strength. 
In life, those who go on the Master's errand have 
His abiding presence. Afterwards, they shall see 
Him face to face, and serve Him day aiud night in 
His temple. 



APPENDICES ON THE SIMULTANEOUS 
METHOD OF EVANGELISM. 

Pbepaked by Eev. J. G. Shearer, D. D. 

By a Simultaneous' Mission is meant tJie hold- 
ing of special services for the quickening of spir- 
itual life and the winning of men, women, and 
children to' Christ, in a number of centers in a 
large city, or places in a district, at the same time. 

Such a mission can only be carried out suc- 
cessively when the utmost care is bestowed upon 
its operation. In the following sections, three 
aspects of such an enterprise are dealt with. 



Section I 
THE pkeparatio:n^ for a simultaneous mission. 

These suggestions recognize that no work can 
prosper or succeed without the efficacious blessing 
of God, and that God alone can give the increase. 
God's BiesB- They also assume that God never with- 
ITifed Ts"^' holds His blessing, that He always does 
Essential ^j^^ always will ^^give the increase'' if 
the necessary conditions, humanly possible, are 
fulfilled. In other words, it is assumed that we 
should in all Christian eifort pray as if all de- 
pended on God, and at the same time plan and 
work as if all depended upon our plans and effort. 
God works through wisely planned and energet- 
ically executed effort. 

The Mission itself, as a rule, should last from 
Duration of two to four wccks, meetings being held 
a Campaign ^g^^j jj^ ^j^^ samo placc, and if possible, 
in the one building, not changing from day to day. 

The Preparation period should never be less 
than three months, rarely less than six, and in 
case of Campaigns in large Cities, or covering 
wide areas, a whole year is not tooi long. The 
Follow-Up Work should last about the same time 
as the Preparation. 

Substantial unanimity among the Pastors con- 
substantiai cemed is more important in the Simul- 
unanimity tancous mcthod than in any other. It 

Essential • •. i . ^, , / . .^ 

IS Vital to success. Complete unanimity 
is rarely possible. Substantial unanimity is usu- 

255 



256 APPENDIX 

ally attainable where' wisdom and grace have 
been present, and patience CKercised in the con- 
ferences in Presbytery or other body before the 
Campaign is determined upon. 

These must depend on local conditions, 
The Best Weather, roads, seasons, etc. It is easily 
°^*** possible, however, tc over-emphaisize the 

importance of these considerations. 

Thoroughness of preparation, unity of spirit^ 
and humble dependence on God are greatly more 
important than external conditions. 

It is practically essential that each local Min- 
ister or Missionary should have the help of one 
of his brethren from near or far. In each centre 
Outside where a Mission is to be conducted, there 
Helpers should bc Sb Missioucr from outside to 
conduct the Mission. One Missioner, 
not a series. One mediocre preacher for three 
weeks will be used for greater results than several 
superior preiachers each for a portion of that time. 
The blessing depends infinitely more on the unity 
and earneistness in prayer and effort of the local 
people than on the ability of the Missioner. As 
a rule it is wiser to use regular Pastors as Mis- 
sioners, borrowing them from their congregations 
for this purpose. 

A few men of conspicuous ability in this kind 
of ministry are a source of strength, not only in 
the fields where they do the preaching, but 
throughout the district covered. 

But it has been conclusively demonstrated 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 257 

that men of almost no experience, if of right 
spirit and in right atitude to God, may prove 
Missioners of great power. As a rule, therefore, 
most of the helpers need not be brought from far. 

It is almost essential also that a singer or di- 
rector of song should be associated with each 
preacher. The Assembly's Board has a small 
staff of snch men, guaranteeing their support, 
and looking to the fields where they minister to 
recoup the Board. It will sometimes happen that 
such can be found among local Choirs. Or the 
visiting Missioned may be able to bring with him 
his own Choir Leader or soloist. Such, of course, 
are of no use unless earnest Christians and im- 
bued with the Evangelistic spirit. 

The Committee having charge of the whole 
General Campaign should make a, very careful 
Financing estimate in advance of what the ex- 
penses will be, and devise plans for the getting of 
the money. 

Excepting on weak Missionary territory, the 
local people can and should be required to bear 
all their oiwn expenses. The larger places can 
assist the smaller. Only in exceptional cases, such 
as Mission fields, should the Central Board assist 
financially. In every such Campaign every field 
should be asked to give at the close of the Mission 
a thank-offering for the benefit of the Central 
Board, to assist in meeting its large expense for 
literature, secretarial help, hymn books, loss from 
guaranteeing the salaries of singers, etc. 

17 



258 APPENDIX 

There should be local co-opera,tion wherever 
possible between denominatioiis or Churches of 
, ^ , similar faith. As to whether there 

Interdenotn- 

inationai should be United action by Central 
Boards of Sister Churches must be de- 
termined by these Boards in conference. In all 
cases they should work on a common understand- 
ing and avoid overlapping, conflict of dates, un- 
becoming rivalry, and the like. 

Prepakation or the Local FiEiiDS 

Every field to be included in the Mission should 
be thoroughly organized for preparatory work. 
This may be done by the Pastor himself, or by 
some one from a Presbyterial or Synodical Com- 
mittee, or the Central Board. 

The Pastor himself ha,s much work to do by 
way of preparation. 
Apart from the preparation of his 
own heart, that he may be filled with the spirit 
of Jesus, which, of course, is vital, he should pre- 
pare his people — 

(a) By preaching with care and earnestness 
on suitable themes, such as Sin, Redemption, the 
Love of God, Repentance, Faith, Regeneration, 
Sanctification, consistent Christian Living, Win- 
ning Others to Christ, Prayer, the Conditions of 
Spiritual Quickening, etc. 

(b) By meeting with his elders, managers. 
Sabbath School teachers, and other workers, 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 259 

either in sepairate ot united conference, for prayer 
and consultation, with tlie Mission in view. 

(c) By making the Mission a subject of ear- 
nest conversation and prayer, in all his pastoral 
work, for months in advance, and— 

(d) In pulpit, conferences, and pastoral visi- 
tation, earnestly seeking to get his people to pray 
specially and regularly for the Divine blessing 
and guidance in the Mission, and to refuse im- 
l^eratively to make engagements for social events, 
business or pleasure, for the period set apart for 
the Mission. 

This clearing out of the way of all that might 
distract attention, and thus giving the King's 
Business a monopoly for this brief period, is of 
the veiry first consequence. 

Then Committees should be appointed in each 
place, as follows : not less than one nor more than 
three months, as a rule, in advance of the Mission. 

There should be an Executive Committee— 
Executive sistiug of thc Chairman of each other 
Committee Qommittce and one or more other mem- 
bers from each co-operating Church. 

The Chairman of the Executive should be a 
member, ex-offtcio, of all other Committees. 

This Executive will have control of all local 
arrangements for the Mission, providing for the 
place of all meetings, and will see that all the 
Committees do their work in the best way pos- 
sible, and that nothing is left undone that conse- 
crated human foresight can plan and do in the 
interests of the Mission. 



260 APPENDIX 

The Executive should hold stated meetings, 
and keep in closest touch with all preparatory 
arrangements, overlooking no detail. 

There should be a Finance Committee— con- 
Finance sisting of a Chairman and one or more 
Committee representatives from each co-operating 
Church. This is the simplest constitution for all 
such Committees. 

Its work will be to gather and disburse all 
moneys. It should have the right to vote any plan 
involving expense, as it must be ready to pay all 
accounts when due, whether for advertising, print- 
ing, literature, entertainment, rent, etc. 
It will provide for— 

(a) Subscriptions, if necessary. 

(b) Collections at all public meetings. 
Experience teaches that this is wise, whether 

there is urgent need of the money for local ex- 
penses or not, for the sake of its reflex spiritual 
influence, and — 

(c) For a thank-otfering in the interests of the 
general work, in envelopes, on the closing nights 
of the Mission. 

No greater mistake can be made than not to en- 
courage regenerated or revived people to give fre- 
quently and generously. They want to do so. 
They always consider it a hardship if denied the 
privilege. This the Committee considers unques- 
tionable, and of the greatest importance.' 

There should be an Advertising Committee. 
In som_e places it may be wise to ask the Finance 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 261 

Oodmnittee or the Executive to do tJie work of this 
Committee. But the work should be carefully 
Advertising doiie. The Committee may be composed 
Committee ^^ ^^^ Same Way as that on Finance. 
Its work will be to make the meetings known 
throughout the district to be reached— thoroughly 
known, and not merely known by a vital interest 
aroused. This may be done— 

(a) By reporting the plans de<5ided upon at 
each meeting, in the local press. 

(b) By asking the active help of the Com- 
mittees on Prayer, Canvassing, etc. 

(c) By posters in public places, shop windows, 
etc., placed there not more than two weeks in ad- 
vance, and— 

(d) By pulpit, Sabbath School, and other an- 
nouncements, regularly repeated as long in ad- 
vance as possible. 

There should be a Prayer Committee. This 
Prayer committce Can do much to^ induce the 

Committee Qj^rigtian peoplc to pray for the Minis- 
ters, office-bearers, and members of the Churches, 
for the Missioners and singers, and for the un- 
converted in the community. 

If they learn the possibilities and blessing of 
intercessory prayer in this special effort, they are 
likely to continue to exercise the privilege and 
power after the campaign is over. 

The Committee may organize Prayer Circles 
in different neighborhoods, or among particular 
classes of people, whose members will agree to 



262 APPENDIX 

pray in private, for blessing on the Mission, or 
who will meet weekly for united prayer. The 
Committee should also arrange for home or cot- 
tage meetings for prayer, praise, and brief Bible 
Study. These meetings should be held for many 
weeks before the Mission. They give the oppor- 
tunity for personal workers to call upon all resi- 
dents in the neighborhood of the homes where the 
meetings are to be held, and to effectively adver- 
tise the Mission, as well as to do direct personal 
work in winning people tO' Christ. 

In some places these Neighborhood Prayer 
Circles have all met at the same hour, and on the 
same day, and reports indicate that there was 
greatly increased interest because of this simul- 
taneity applied not only to the whole Mission, but 
to these little prayer meetings. The fact that each 
person knows that all others are similarly en- 
gaged at the same hour, contributes to create that 
atmosphere of prayer in which it is easy to ap- 
proach people on the King's Business, and to win 
them to His service. 

There should be union prayer meetings also, 
for all the people of the co-operating Churches, 
in each place, for a few weeks before the Mission 
opens, and for several successive nights immedi- 
ately preceding the opening of the Mission. 

There should be a Committee orn Music. This 
Committee will organize the Choirs of all the 
Churches into a Union Choir for the special meet- 
ings, and see that it practices in advance thie Spe- 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 263 

oial Hymns to be used in the Mission. It should 
arrange also for a service of praise at all the 
Music Union Prayer Meetings, inviting all the 

Committee pgQpig ^q, jqjji^ ^nd perhaps as well, on 

Sunday nights, after regular service, for a few 
weeks preceding the Mission. It will arrange also 
for an Organist for all preparatory practices, as 
well as for the Mission meetings themselves, and 
for a Director of the Choir up till the actual open- 
ing of the Mission. 

There must be a Personal Work and Can- 
vassing Committee. The Chairman of this Com- 
mittee should be carefully chosen, should 
workTnd bei an earnest, tactful. Christian worker 
Canvassing liimself, aud capable of inspiring and 
directing others in similar endeavor, 
and the members of this Committee should be 
drawn from all Organizations in the Churches co^ 
operatmg, and be the best men and women avail- 
able. 

Their work before the Mission opens will be 
canvassing in connection with neighborhood cot- 
tage prayer meetings, or in taking a Church cen- 
sus, and inviting to all meetings before ot during 
the Mission. 

When the Mission opens, they will have charge 
of the ushering, the distribution and collection of 
cards as called for, and doing personal work 
among those impressed by tlie meetings or waiting 
for Inquiry Eoom help. 

A Church Census carefully taken, during the 



264 APPENDIX 

Preparatioii for the Mission, will do much good, 
afford an excellent opportunity for advertising 
and personal work, and for gathering information 
that will be of the greatest value during the Mis- 
sion and afterward. 

The very general and serious difficulty of find- 
ing persons willing and able to do personal work 
may be overcome by each PastoT training a class 
of those who wish to know how. 



Section II 

THE CONDUCT OF A SIMULTANEOUS MISSION OF 
EVANGELISM 

It is assumed that the Preparation has been thor- 
oughly made and that Ministers, officc'-bearers, 
and people are in the spirit of prayer, organized 
for the work, free from all avoidable social and 
business engagements, ready to concentrate every 
effort and energy on winning men and women 
and children to Jesus. It is assumed, moreover, 
that the Missioners, both preachers and singers, 
who are to* take charge of the Mission as helpers 
of the Pastors, are on the ground and ready to 
begin, and that they as well as the local Chris^ 
tians are devoted to the one great work of eagerly 
pressing **The King's Business." 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 265 

General Suggestions Affecting the Whole 
Mission 

This has already been partly discussed. Usu- 
ally such a Mission should last about three weeks. 
Sometimes it may be wise to continue through 
another week. If the preparation work 

Duration -^ ^ 

has been very thoroughly and effectively 
done, the Mission need not in many communities 
last for more than twoi weeks. Experienced men 
say they have known one week to result in little 
or nothing, and even two, but never where ear- 
nest, prayerful effort continued for three weeks. 
But much depends as to this on how much prayer 
and effort has been put into the Preparation. 

Besides Presbyterial or other conferences held 
during the prolonged period of Preparation, it 
is important, often vital, to have a special con- 
conference ^^^^^^^ D^st bcfore the Missiou begins, 

of all the Pastors, Missioners, Singers 
or Directors of Song, and if possible the Chair- 
men of the Committees on Executive, Finance, 
Advertising, Music, Prayer and Personal Work. 
This Conference may well last for a day. Much 
of it should be given to prayer, special prayer, 
prayer for definite objects, and especially for 
emptying of self and filling with the Spirit of God. 
If only each worker is possessed of the Spirit of 
Jesus, who came to seek and to save the loet, the 
whole community may be brought to Him. 

Then every plan for the Mission should be 



266 APPENDIX 

carefully agreed upon. No detail should be over- 
looked. 

Some representative of the Assembly's Com- 
mittee, or other experienced Missioner, should 
attend and direct this Conference. 

Where possible, it is wise for these workers 
to meet again, say on a Saturday, during the 
Mission, to pray together, exchange experiences, 
compare notes, solve perplexing problems, and 
consider new plans, special meetings, etc. 

It is of great value to have one Missioner, 
chosen because of his fitness for the work, to visit 
the various fields during the Mission, observe. 
Director suggcst, hclp, checr, report good news 
from other fields, etc. He should not be 
asked to preach. 

Some daily, or at least semi-weekly, medium 
of news should be sent to each field, containing 
all items of cheering news and requests for spe- 
News cial prayer, gathered from all over the 

Bulletin Mission. To make this possible, daily 
reports should be sent by the Pastor or Missioner 
from each field to the man who is to make up, 
get typed and mail the bulletin. The Director 
might do this, unless the fact of his moving daily 
makes this difficult. His daily itinerary would 
need to be known to all. Or some other person 
might do the reporting, a consecrated newspaper 
man, for instance. If the Mission covers a large 
area^ it may be necessary to print the bulletin. 
In that case the expense might be partly borne 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 267 

by adivertiseinents. Tlie people of Fernie^ B. C, 
during tlie campaign in their district, issued daily 
/^The King's Business/' paid most of it by ad- 
vertisements, and felt that it was well worth 
while. At Thessalon, Ontario, during a similar 
season, a well edited paper, entitled ^^The Sky 
[Pilot,'' proved most useful. 

One great advantage in the Simultaneous 
Campaign is that it creates an atmosphere in the 
whole district, in which it is easy to win people 
to Christ. The Director and the bulletin contrib- 
ute largely toward this end. 

Suggestions for Each Indhtidual Field 

Choose the best, the most suitable place, where 
the people are most likely to attend, regardless 
of other less important considerations. Usually 
The Place it will be a Church,. Sometimes it is 
of Meeting ^^^^^^ ^^ choose a Hall, Eink, or Opera 
House, in a community where there are many non- 
Church-goers, or many prejudiced against the 
Church. 

The same place should be used for all the meet- 
ings. It is rarely wise to change the place during 
the Mission. 

It is of prime importance to have the place 
comfortable. It must be well heated, well lighted, 
and well ventilated. This should be insisted on 
at any cost of trouble or money. It seldom hap- 
pens that souls are saved if the feet are a<?hing 
with cold, or the knees cramped as often happens 



268 APPENDIX 

in country scliool houses. One of our Missioners 
got permission from the trustees to change the 
seats, putting them further apart. Let nothing 
stand in the way of the comfort of the audience. 

It may not always be wise or possible to have 
regular meetings during the day in a Mission, 
but it usually is. These will be specially for the 
Day benefit of Christian people. Many such, 

Meetings ^-j^^ because of domestic duty cannot 
attend the evening meetings, will greatly appre- 
ciate an afternoon meeting. The aim at these 
meetings should be Bible instruction and spiritual 
quickening. They will also afford an opportunity 
for united prayer for the Missioners, the workers, 
and the unconverted. 

In rural communities a general day meeting 
may not be feasible. In that case neighborhood 
meetings in the homes may be substitut :d, and the 
Pastoral visitation and personal work may then 
each day be given to the neighborhoods where 
the meetings fo^r that day are to be held. 

The evening meetings will always be distinc- 
tively Evangelistic. Not all of them need aim 
at winning the unconverted to a decision for 
The Evening Christ. The opening ones may indeed 
Meetings often moro wisely aim to awaken sleep- 
ing or indifferent or backslidden Christians, 
though this ought to be done in the period of 
Preparation preceding the Mission. But in any 
case every meeting will aim at definite and im- 
mediate results. 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 269 

The ushers can do much by cordially welcom- 

ushers ^^^ ^^® people on arriving. If this is 

done lovingly in the name and spirit of 

Jesus, it will open many ears and hearts to receive 

the Grospel message. 

The meeting will open with a Song Service, 
in connection with which the Scripture lesson will 
be read and prayer be offered, and announcements 
The Song made, and the offering taken. The 
Service Siugcr or Director of Song will of course 
have charge of the singing. 

The Minister and Missioner will take the other 
items. 

Some new Hymns should be learned, Hymns 
that appeal and will be remembered and sung 
after the Mission is over. The Service of Song 
can be made a great power. The mind, heart 
and conscience will be stirred and prepared for 
the message of the evening. It seldom occurs that 
too much is made of the singing if capably di- 
rected and led. Solos, choruses, etc., are good 
and have their place, but the congregational sing- 
ing is of greatest consequence. 

A Junior Choir, organized, trained, and occu- 
pying seats in front of the adult choir, may add 
strength and variety to the Song Service. 

The Sermon will deal with the great funda- 
mental and practical truths. Sin, redemption. 
The repentance, faith, regeneration, par- 

^"°^°" don, etc., will be treated, but all will 
centre about Christ and God's love in Him. 



270 APPENDIX 

Every such, sermon will close witli am appeal 
to the heart, and through the heart to the will 
for immediate: surrexidei: to Christ., or to obedience 
to the truth proclaimed. It is in this appeal that 
most failures occur. The preacher must be living 
in the atmosphere of Heaven, filled with tender 
yearning for men, aglow with the love of God, 
if he is to bring his hearers to the crisis and win 
them then and there to decision. It is here that 
the reality of his faith and the genuineness of 
his own religion will be tested. Nothing but pure 
gold will stand that fire : He must know the truth. 
He must make it clear and simple. He is God's 
ambassador. Eternal destiny for many hangs on 
how he does his work. If God is speaking through 
him men will hear. It should be his aim to get a 
verdict for Jesus Christ and get it there and then. 

Tests may be used. But they must be used 
with discrimination. Usually at the beginning 
of the Mission they should not be used at all, or 
Tests ^^^ ^^ simplesti. Many are prejudiced 

against all tests — unreasonably so. But 
even prejudices should be respected in such deli- 
cate work where the whole course of life and the 
eternal destiny of souls are or may be determined. 
In a meeting where God is mightily moving men, 
they will accept any test. Unless God is mani- 
festly present all tests will fail. But God-ap- 
proved tests resulting in manifestly transformed 
lives will lead as of old to this— ^* Seeing the man 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 271 

that was healed standing among them theiy could 
say nothing. ' ^ 

Cards such as the following ha,ve often proved 
most helpful: 



"The Master is Come and Calleth for Thee" 

I am a member of the Church elsewhere. It is 
purpose to unite with the Church in this place. 

Name 


my 


Address 


Church preferred 





♦' Choose You This 

I accept Christ 
hereby confess Him. 

Name 


Day Whom Ye Will Serve' 
as my personal Saviour 


> 
and 


Address 


Church preferred . 























These should be distributed when called for, 
by the Personal Workers or Ushers to whom this 
work is delegated. 

Every person present should be handed a card 
lest those singled out be embarrassed. 

This should be done promptly, quickly, quietly. 



272 APPENDIX 

Pencils should also be circulated. The Mis- 
sioner will make his explauations with clearness 
and emphasis. Each is asked to sign the card 
tha,t expresses his or her attitude or to return it 
unused. 

When sufficient time is given, the workers will 
collect the cards and give them at once to the 
Chairman of the Committee. He will at the close 
of the meeting assort the signed cards according 
to denominational or church preference and at 
once, after making a. copy of the names and ad- 
dresses, and church preference, will distribute 
the cards to the Pastors of the Churches pre- 
ferred. 

Cards with no church preference indicated 
should be considered and distributed only at a 
meeting of all the Pastors with the Chairmen. 

This work of the Ushers or Personal Workers 
is very important. Very definite instructions 
should be given them night after night until by 
drill they know exactly what to do and when 
and how. 

Aftermeetings may be held when thought wise. 
After- foir prayer, or singing, or instruction, 

meetings ^^ individual dealing with inquirers. 

But great care should be taken 

(a) To begin on time and 

(b) To close the public service in reasonable 
time. There is more danger of making the meet- 
ing too long than too short. The service, either 
song or preaching, may be allowied to drag. Time 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 273 

is lost. Harm is done. Send the people away 
hungry rather than sated, not to say bored. 

Special Meethstgs 

There are many kinds of Special meetings that 
may be used to advantage, though manifestly not 
all of them could be held in every Mission. 

One of the most effective means of adver- 
For tising a; Mission is for the Missioners 

Children ^^ ^-g-^ ^^^ PubHo and High School while 

in session, have the children sing some familiar 
hymn or chorus, briefly address them and an- 
nounce the meetings. 

Then, in cities, towns or villages, meetings for 
Children may be held as often as thought wise at 
4.15. The use of thei Stereopticon, illustrating 
the Life of Christ and other Bible stories or inci- 
dents, may be most effective. Of course not every 
Missionary can have or use this method. The 
Children will appreciate an ordinary Gospel Song 
Service quite as much as adults. But make spe- 
cial effort to reach and win the Children for 
Christ. 

Meetings for special classes are always well 
For Women attended, aud afford an opportunity of 
or for Men or pressiug Certain truths of special in- 
terest and concern to the special au- 
dience. Delicate subjects, such as purity, can be 
discussed, too-, with the greater frankness in such 
meetings. 

18 



274 APPENDIX 

In places where there are many non-Cliiircli- 
goers, meetings on the streets, in the parks, or 
in large shops or factories, or for business men 
Open air, (^^ noon and not longer than thirty min- 
shops, Hos- utes) are of great valne. Hospitals, 
pitais.etc. go^Qig^ ^-^^ other institutions should be 
visited also. One of the most remarkable meet- 
ings the writer ha,s seen was in the Provincial 
Prison at Nelson, B. C, conducted by Mr. John 
A. Thomson, the Evangelist to Workingmen. The 
fifty men present, or many of them, wore a sneer 
on their faces at first. This soon gave way to 
attentive interest, and then to the moist eye, and 
then to flowing tears, and half the number, at the 
testing time, boldly declared their desire to know 
and trust and serve Christ. 

Personal Work or One by One Soul Winning. 
This is always in order, but not always equally 
easy. In a Simultaneous Mission an atmosphere 
Personal ^^ interest in the great verities and ia 
Work indi- the individual's relation to Christ is cre- 
ated, in which, in the words of Principal 
iGordon, 0)f <Queen's University, '*It becomes the 
rmiost natural and easy thing possible to approach 
(almost anyone, anywhere and anytime, regarding 
his or her relation to the Saviour." 

Hence it is that this personal work for Christ 
becomes of the very greatest importance ia a Mis- 
sion. The Pastors and Missioners should engage, 
and indeed lead in it. Christian parents. Sabbath 
SSchool teachers, leaders among the Young People^ 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 275 

and all CHristian workers should be induced to 
enlist in it. 

If they begin sucb work in the white heat of 
the Mission, they are likely to continue it after 
the Mission is over. Organize for this work. 
Concentrate upon it. Is not this verily **The 
King's Business r' 

Was it not this that the King Himself made 
His chief concern? Did He ever pass one by, 
however poor or sinful or hopeless? 

Every man, woman, and child m the place 
should be made to feel that there is a real con- 
cern for his or her salvation. 

Advertising and public addresses will not do 
this. Nothing will butl the one by one method. 
The tender, loving, personal touch is essential to 
make all feel that soul-saving is the King's busi- 
ness and not just* a pastime 

In some Missions and in some places it is ad- 
speciai vantageous to arrange for Special Days. 
Days rjijjj^g ^^^^ ^£ coursc, bc douo at any time, 

not only during a Mission. 

Decision Day is regularly observed in many 
Sabbath Schools. Of course every day should 
be a Decision Day, and this would need to be made 
very clear. The chief advantage of having such 
a day is just that it a,tfords a new and special 
opportunity of pressing the matter of personal 
salvation upon the undecided. 

Good Cheer Day is made much of in some 
Missions, when special acts of kindness to the 



276 APPENDIX 

poor, tlie sick, the shut in, the aged, and the like, 
are shown, such as personally giving flowers, 
food, clothing, and speaking a loving word to the 
afflicted ones, in the name of Christ. Such a day 
may often make a deep, general, and lasting im- 
pression upon a whole community. 

Certain campaigns have demonstrated the pos- 
speciai sibilities of using what may be called 
Workers Spccial Workcrs, by which is meant 
those who appeal to special classes often neglected 
or hard to reach. 

Consecrated women, with hearts overflowing 
with! love to the lost, can alone be God's instru- 
ments for winning their fallen sisters. Their need 
has been keenly felt in different campaigns. One 
Missioner, as a result of his work and observation 
among the railroaders in the Mountains, feels 
strongly that a great work could be done by a 
man of actual experience of railroading, among 
railway men. 

Perhaps in time we shall discover Special 
Workers of all classes in sufficient numbers. 

Meantime, may we not all ^ ^ Pray the Lord of 
the harvest that He will send forth, labourers into 
His harvest," such labourers as He needs who 
knows best? 

Every Missioner should, during his Mission, 
emphasize the importance of Bible Study, family 
worship, loyalty to minister and Church, system- 
atic and proportionate giving, moral and social 
reform, such as Lord's Day, preservation and ob- 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 277 

servance, tempeirance, suppression of vice, social 
service, and the like. Of course this should be 
done incidentially only in the Mission. These 
things will be specifically dealt with in the FoUow- 
Up work immediately after the Mission. 

SECTIOlsr III 

THE FOLLOW-UP WOKK 11^ A SIMULTANEOUS CAM- 
PAIGN OP EVANGELISM 

The Preparation may well be held to be 
Follow up more important than the Mission. The 
Work Vital j^QnQ,^_xjp work is the most impor- 
tant of all. 

In the Evangelism of the past there has fre- 
quently been very inadequate preparation, withi 
the result that tlie Mission was eitlier ai com- 
parative failure or largely spent in preparation, 
the Christian communities being about ready to 
begin when the Mission ended. And while tbe 
preparation waiS inadequate there was little or no 
Follow-Up work at all. The Evangelist may have 
urged that there should be. Tbe local ministers 
rarely felt the need or importance of it, and, of 
course, still less their people. 

Not infrequently the Evangelists were ex- 
The Cause pcctcd by miraculous means to bring 
of Failure -^^^^ j.^^ Churches the unconverted in the 
community and lift the entire Church life to a 
new level. If they failed they alone were held re^ 
sponsible. 



278 APPENDIX 

It is now recognized that there is no royal 
road to newer and higher spiritual life, no patent 
process for winning souls. The road is toilsome. 
The process is laborious. If the Preparation is 
well and thoroughly done : if the united Christian 
forces enter upon the Mission itself, humbly, ear- 
nestly, enthusiastically, depending on God's enab- 
ling grace, the Church life and the unsaved a 
sacred burden on their hearts, God will give His 
blessing, men and women will be unable to resist, 
they will yield themselves to Divine grace, accept 
and confess Christ as Saviour and Lord, and be 
ready to begin serving Him, or to^ begin anew. 

Then it is that the Church is ready to begin 
the work, not to discontinue. The end is not to 
lead people to a decision for Christ. That is 
The Work ouly the beginning. The end is to lead 
when^he^'" thcm iuto the service of God, to train 
Mission Ends thcm for it, to keep them at it, to make 
them strong, vigorous Christians, and to unite 
them in ai well trained army to fight the King's 
battles and do His work of saving and serving 
the lost world of humanity. Souls are saved, not 
to die, but to live, not for eternity, but for time, 
not to get into Heaven at death, but to introduce 
Heaven into life here and now. 

The campaign is therefore just ready to begin 
when the Mission ends. 

The leaders should understand this. The 
young converts are not likely to. They are but 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 279 

baibes. They need food, air, exercise, that they 
^^^ ^^ may grow in the grace and knowledge 
Avoid and service of Christ. Missions of Evan- 

gelism are often criticized because they 
are followed by reaction. And there is danger of 
reaction. There have been many meetings, at- 
tractive singing, interesting preaching, much en- 
thusiasm, a crisis to many and a new start in 
life, and suddenly the meetings cease, the enthusi- 
asm wanes, and each must face life's daily round 
with its burdens, trials, temptations. The Devil 
is busy, the world is cold and hard, even cruel too 
often. Unless the utmost care is taken these 
young souls will suffer, waver, fall, and the last 
state may be worse than the first. But reaction 
need not follow if the Follow-Up work is well and 
wisely done. It is in this that Pastors and Church 
Leaders will be tested. It is not Evangelism that 
is on trial, but they. Here, as ever, there must 
be careful and wise planning of the work, and 
thorough and faithful working of the plan. 

Suggestions for Follow-Up "Work 

It is hoped the following suggestions may 
be helpful. Some may be more valuable in one 
place, and less in another. All are believed to be 
worthy of careful consideration at lea,st. 

TKose who have been influenced during the 
Mission and have taken some forward step, such 
as signing a decision or confession card, or have 



280 APPENDIX 

othermse shown a desire to begin or to resume tlie 
CliristiaLii life, should he at once visited hy the Pas- 
The ^^^ ^^ ^^^ helpers f or both, cordially 

Necessity welcomod, encouraged, and warned of 
coming temptation. This should be 
done without fail and without delay. Nothing 
can excuse delay or neglect in this vital matter. 
There is joy in Heaven over every penitent. 
There should be joy and tender solicitude on 
the part of the Pastor, Elders, and other Chris- 
tian workers. It wa,s the anxious, loving in- 
terest on the part of Missioners or workers that 
led to decision. The young soul neieds it after- 
wards and will loiok for it in the Church. It is 
criminal to neglect these little ones— it may cause 
them to stumble. He who is guilty of such neglect 
incurs an awful responsibility. *'It were better 
for him that a millstone were hanged upon his 
neck and he cast into the sea.." 

Where the number is large, or, indeed, whether 
large or small, there should be system in the 
work. The Pastor cannot do it all, but he should 
The Group assure himself that it is done at all costs. 
System ^ ^^aji that has stood the test of expe^ 
rience is to arrange the young Christians in 
groups, say of five or ten, each group under the 
care of a trusted leader, who will be expected to 
keep in close touch with each] member of his or 
her group, studying, welcoming, cheering, warn- 
ing, stimulating, and leading in Christian service. 
This will prove ai blessing to the leader as well 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 281 

as to those he shepherds. These leaders sho'iild, 
of course, be required to report regularly, and, 
if possible, weekly, to the Pastor, a,nd preferably 
in a meeting of the leaders. This will materially 
help to deepen his or her sense of responsibility, 
and is vital to the success of the method. This 
plan should continue in organized operation for 
at least three months from the close of the Mis- 
sion. 

An early opportunity should be given the new 
converts to become acquainted with their fellow 
Christians, and to make new friends. A social 
providin a ff^^^^^^^'^ffy or a uumbcr of such, may be 
Social At- best for this. These should be informal, 
mosphere gordial, happy, but not frivolous. Many 
young converts must and ought to have done 
largely with former friends, so far as companion- 
ship is concerned. New friends must be found. 
They will look for these in the Church. They 
should not look in vain. 

If they have been previously quite outside the 
Church, they may be sensitive about inattention 
and lack of cordiality. They should not need cod- 
dling. But they have a right to expect genuine 
brotherhood which includes sociability. 

Can anyone imagine Jesus being indifferent, 
not to say cold, toward these ** little onesT' Be- 
sides, the sociability of true brotherhood is a 
Christian grace, and there is such a thing as 
* ^ the expulsive power of a new friendship. ' ' They 
need the help true Christian friendship can give. 



28S APPENDIX 

** Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of 
these^ My brethren, ye did it unto Me. ' ' Not only 
greet them kindly, but get into close touch with 
them and be helpful in all things, both material 
and spiritual. Be brothers and sisters in deed 
and in truth. 

The King's Business Covenant of Service 
The Cove- Hiethod will fit in with the group plan 
nantofserv- j-Qst suggestcd. The Asscmbly's Com- 
mittee supplies a card for this purpose, 
which reads as follows: 



The King's Business Covenant of Service 

I hereby profess my willingness to assist my pastor 
to the extent of my ability in every lawful endeavor 
to gather in the fruits of this present series of meet- 
ings. I further pledge myself to allow no day to pass 
during thia period without an attempt at some posi- 
tive act of service for others, and hereby pledge my- 
self for three months. 

Name 

Address 

Church . 



These cards should be distributed at the close 
of the Mission and all young Christians, as well 
as Church members in general, invited to join in 
this special covenant of service. Those entering 
into this covenant will, led by the pastor, under- 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 283 

take whateiver work or sorts of work may seem 
most needed or advisable. But it should be taken 
for granted tliait tJiey will give tbemseilves to the 
strengthening of the ChiDrch's life and work, 
wherever the need is greatest. They should be 
led to feel, from the beginning, that they have 
been saved to serve God in blessing men here, 
now and always, not merely to get into Heaven. 
Again, they should be led to give themselveis to 
service in the Church which gave them spiritual 
birth, and along the usual lines of Church work, 
such as the Mid-week Service, the regular Sunday 
services, the Sunday School, the Bible Study 
Classes, the Brotherhood, the Yoimg People's 
Society, the Missionary Societies, etc., all of which 
should be materially and permanently improved 
as a result of the campaign. Otherwise it has 
been a comparative failure, and somebody has 
come far short of his duty. 

The Mid-weeh Service should be made the 
rallying centre of this special covenant. All who 
take it should be expected, encouraged and per- 
The Mid- suaded to attend regularly, to take part 
week Service [j^ tcstlmony, praycr, report or other- 
wise. It may be wise tO' ask the group leaders to 
report progress weekly, the pastor encoura,ging, 
guiding, and advising each, and leading all to 
pray for each. 

Every young Christian must study the Bible 
in private and in class, regularly, intelligently, 



284 APPENDIX 

diligently. He must be led and trained to do so. 
Every one should, therefore, enter at once some 
Bible class for Bible study. This should be 

®*"^^ insisted on, good-naturedly but irre- 

sistibly. The Pastor should press it. The group 
leaders should press it. They should be gra- 
ciously compelled to come in. Enroll every one of 
them in the Pocket Testament Leagues 

Parents should be similarly urged and led to 
The Family sct up the family altar. There is great 
^"^^ need for this. The opportunity is 

golden. Hearts are plastic. They can be moulded 
at will by a wise potter under God. Enroll heads 
of family in the Family Altar League. 

Then again, this is a good time to organize 
Form a the mcu iuto a Brotherhood, with its 
Brotherhood ^j^^g ^f -^:^^-y^ g^^^^ ^^ -^^ various liues 

of social, fraternal, literary, athletic, missionary, 
moral reform, and other service. 

In some congregations the Christian Endeavor 
Society, or Westminster Guild, may be considered 
of greater service or suitability. 

The duty and privilege of systematic and pro- 
stewardship portionate giving should be discussed, 
w^rid-wide^ pressed, and organized for, and the 
Missions claims of Missions at home and abroad 
presented as an essential line of Christian life 
and service. 

The cleansing of the community's life should 
not be overlooked. Give the warm-hearted young 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 285 

Christians something worth while to do. Are 
there barrooms? Close them. Is there open so- 
Moraiand ^^^^ vlcef Eoot it O'Tit, resciiing the vic- 
sociai tims of the white slavei tiraffio. Is the 

Lord 's Daiy flagrantly violated f Take up 
the battle f oir liberty tiO rest, for every man. Does 
social or industrial injustice oppress and burden 
the working people or any section of them? Ex- 
tend to them the hand of help and sympathy. 

Above all things, seei that every covenanted 
Christian undertakes toi win others to Christ. 
During the three months of special Follow-Up 
Personal work mauy of those who did not sur- 
work for render to Christ during the Mission can 
be won by loving, personal effort. Many 
may feel that they do* not know how. They should 
receive specific, practical instruction. 

Evangelistic work has often been severely 
steadfast- critlciscd because the converts did not 
ness, How provc stcadfast. Of scores or even hun- 
dreds, few are to found in Church life 
and service a year after the Mission endSi. 

This may and sometimes is to be charged to 
the superficiality of the work of the Missioner. 
He may sometimes be better at reporting num- 
bers than at really winning men to. Christ. He 
may by frantic appeals to emotion lead many to 
stand up or sign a card who do not realize what 
the Christian life is. 

But more frequently this deplorable state of 
things is chargeable to the local Pastors and 



286 APPENDIX 

Churchi leadeirs. They foiiind tJie work lagging. 
They brought in Missioners to * ^ boost '^ it. They 
lay back and waited to see the trick done. There 
was no soul-burdening concern. There was no 
personal heart-searching. There was no turning 
to God in confession and prayer and consecration. 
There was no painstaking preparation before- 
hand, nor laborious personal work during the 
Mission, nor seriousi solicitude following. 

No wonder converts scattered or faltered or 
failed ! 

In a Minister's meeting in Boston some years 

ago testimonies were given as to the result of 

the movement. One said he had been given 104 

cards, and only four proved genuine con- 

Expenence ^ ./ ^j. o 

of Two verts. Another said he had received 
exactly the same number of cards, 104, 
and only four had not proven faithful. The dif- 
ference in this case undoubtedly lay in the re^ 
spective Ministers and the Folio w-TJp work. The 
second minister gave up his vacaition toi shepherd- 
ing the lambs. Each man got out of the campaign 
in proportion to what he put into iti, and got what 
he deserved and all he deserved. '* Inasmuch as 
ye did it unto one of these least ye did it unto 
Me/' therefore ^ inherit the kingdom." 

Institutes 

Another plan that sometimes works weU is 
the holding of Institutes of twoi or three days' 
duration in each field just after the Mission closes. 



SIMULTANEOUS EVANGELISM 287 

There should be two or three speakers to have 
charge. The object should be fivefold: 

(1) Personal Eeligiou Service. 

(2) Family Eeligiou. 

(3) Service in the Congregational Life. 

(4) The Stewardship of Money and World- 

Wide Missions. 

(5) Moral and Social Eeform. 

By such Institutes or Conferences, the field of 
Christian Service can be presented vividly before 
the eyes of those who profess themselves servants 
of Christ, and paths of Christian activity may 
be opened to those who realize the obligation restr 
ing upon them. 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 
By T. B. Kilpatriok. 



19 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 

Knox College, Toronto. 
Dear Friend: 

I hear that you are about to take part, as a 
Missioner, in a campaign of Evangelism. I have 
no doubt that you feel your position to be one 
of peculiar solemnity, and also of very grave 
difficulty. You are, I suppose, comparatively in- 
experienced in this kind of work; and I am sure 
that even the most experienced men feel, on the 
verge of such a labor, their own deficiencies and 
inabilities. You will not imagine that in offer- 
ing you any counsels I am doing so from some 
supposed platform of superiority. No one could 
be more persuaded of his weakness as an Evan- 
gelist than I am; and yet, perhaps, counsels from 
one who feels the strain of such work, and has 
no position as a successful Evangelist, may come 
near to your own sense of need. Do not, in any 
case, I beg you, take offence at any plainness of 
speech I may use. I desire only to be helpful. 

Let me speak first of the 

Personal Preparation, 

which, I am sure, you yourself feel to be abso- 
lutely necessary as you go forward to your task. 

291 



292 APPENDIX 

I think we may distinguisli three elements, or 
stages, in this personal preparation : 

(1) Self -Examination, Take time for this. On 
no account, omit it. Let not the rush of business 
deprive you of a season of prayer and medita- 
tion, when yon will be alone with God and your 
own soul. This is imperative. Set your sins 
before your own face. Falter not as you apply 
the knife. Cut deep. The wounds will be salu- 
tary. Kecall your sins as a man; your offences 
against the known will of God; the outward acts 
that have been conspicuous in the eyes of men; 
the secret faults, which are even more deadly and 
polluting. Think of your sins as a Christian; 
your want of love to Christ, your reluctance to 
deny yourself, your restraint of prayer, your 
prevailing unbelief. Track out, name, and de- 
nounce your sins as a minister; your faults of 
tone and temper, conceit, censoriousness, self-will, 
selfishness, envy, ill-will; your failure in duty, 
through culpable ignorance, prideful mistake, or 
sheer sloth, or cowardice. Bring back in memory 
the instances in which you have not redeemed the 
opportunity, and have not taken the occasion of- 
fered you. Eemember your poor sermons, some 
of the poorest of which were those you yourself 
were proudest of when you delivered them. Wit- 
ness against yourself for your lack of love to 
God, zeal for His glory, and compassion for those 
for whom our Lord gave His life. All these 
sins, and a thousand others that defy enumera- 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 298 

tion, confess to God, acknowledging their guilt, 
abhorring them for their shamefulness, turning 
from them, and from yourself, with grief and in 
deep humility. Deal with God concerning them 
on the basis of complete honesty of purpose, and 
a sincere intention that, if He will forgive you 
and aid you, you will be done with them, and will 
cleave to Him and follow after holiness. 

(2) Covenanting With God. I know that, long 
before you are through with the business of self- 
examination, you will be ready, not merely to 
decline the invitation to be a Missioner, but to 
shrink back from the ministry itself, and even 
to doubt your standing in Christ. In such a state, 
there are two evils to be avoided : a legal despair, 
and a trivial and ill-grounded peace. The remedy 
lies in renewing your covenant with God. Set 
before your mind the whole salvation wrought for 
sinners, like yourself— as Bunyan would say, 
''Jerusalem sinners''— sinners against light, and 
love, and honor. Think of its motive, the ever- 
lasting, unmerited love of God. Begin again to 
count its cost to God, the mission of His Son, 
involving pain, and the contradiction of sin- 
ners, the Cross, and the Grave. Consider its per- 
fect accomplishment, through the faithfulness of 
Jesus to His redemptive work. Satisfy yourself 
of its absolute security in His exaltation to the 
right hand of God. Feel your way, through Scrip- 
ture, and by the witness of believers, into the 
scope of this Divine Salvation, how it matches 



294 APPENDIX 

your deepest need, is competent to make you more 
than a conqueror, and is, to those who receive 
it, an everlasting possession. 

You are to preach the Gospel to others. Now 
preach it to yourself first. Then, in an act of 
faith, repeating, in new self-knowledge, what you 
did long ago, accept the salvation offered you. 

Honor God hy testifying to Him that His judg- 
ment upon your sin is just. Glorify Him by 
reckoning that His provision for redemption is 
complete. Take the Gift of His Son. Angels are 
wondering at the offer. Take Christ as your own, 
your Saviour, your Lord, your Friend, your All- 
in-all. Give yourself to Him, in new surrender, 
simply, sincerely, and for ever. I know you are 
a great sinner. But I know He is a great Saviour. 
If He gets you. He will keep you, bless you, use 
you. I cannot follow you into that sacred hour, 
when, like Peter on the first Easter morn, you 
meet the Lord you have grieved. But I think I 
hear Him say to you, as He did to Peter after 
the feast by the lake, ' ' Lovest thou Me ? Feed My 
sheep." 

Heart-broken, heart-healed, sin-stained, blood- 
washed, you will go to your Mission, to preach 
as you never preached before. 

(3) Consecration amd Dedication, Standing at 
the Cross, and looking toward your work, you 
will be constrained to certain acts of soul. You 
will feel, with new force, how hateful sin is, and 
how utterly it spoils Christian service, and you 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 295 

will resolve to mortify it in your members. Be 
as concrete and definite as Paul is; name the 
things; and begin at once to do them to death. 
You will feel, as never before, how beautiful Jesus 
is, and you will understand that efficiency in serv- 
ice depends on Christ-likeness of character. Here, 
also, I would have you be definite. Don't lose 
yourself in vague aspirations. Set yourself to 
follow after holiness; and give time and thought 
to it. As the date of the Mission draws near, 
you will realize, with new alarm, your helpless- 
ness. Forsake utterly all conceit in your own 
gifts. Abandon all reliance upon your native 
abilities, or your acquired skill. Discount all flat- 
teries you have received as to your preaching. 
Be sure that your greatest talent, without the 
Spirit of God, will be useless. But be certified 
that, however humble your powers, if they be 
dedicated, with a perfect heart, tO' God, He will 
work through them by the unseen energy of His 
own free and omnipotent Spirit. Look back and 
see, from your own short experience, that it is so. 
He has done great things for you, and through 
you, but it was when you were small in your own 
eyes. 

The promise of the Father never fails. He will 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luke, 
11:13). 

Glorify Jesus, and the Spirit will be given 
(John, 7:39). 

I beg you not to imagine that I am seeking 



296 APPENDIX 

to stereotype your preparation. But I am sin- 
cerely concerned that you should understand that 
some such personal preparation is indispensable ; 
and I am earnest in desiring that, through such 
a season of waiting upon Ood, you should your- 
self first receive the fulness of blessing. Only 
through such personal enrichment will you be able 
to dispense to others the ^^unsearchable riches of 
Christ." 

Your thoughts, however, are also, very prop- 
erly, much occupied with the kind of 

EVAITGELISTIC PkEACHING 

which is likely to be effective in your field of 
labor. I trust that you make the proclamation 
of the Christian Gospel your main object in all 
your preaching. As pastor and teacher you must 
treat a great variety of subjects in the pulpit, 
and exhibit Christianity in its manifold applica- 
tions. But I cannot conceive of your handling any 
subject in the pulpit without making a way 
through your discourse by which your hearers 
may come to Christ. Thus all your sermons will, 
in any sense, be evangelistic ; and in some of them 
the appeal will be more powerful because it is 
indirect, and comes with the aspect of surprise. 
At the same time, I am sure that you have 
from time to • time preached sermons in which 
you concentrated all your endeavor on one ob- 
ject, viz.: to set forth Christ and His Salvation 
clearly and definitely. You set aside all other 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 297 

themes and interests; yon confronted men, so to 
speak, with Christ in His all-snfficiency. Yon 
stated His claims in their breadth and their exact- 
ingness. Yon unfolded the treasures of His love, 
and pity, and power. Yon pled with men. Yon 
strove to bring them to the point of a believing 
surrender of themselves to Christ. 

Now, that is the kind of sermon which is re- 
quired in this Mission, in which you are to have 
a part. Such preaching can never be slight, 
shallow, trivial ; sinking to parrot-like repetition, 
or, lower still, to a condition of drivelling anec- 
dotage! The sermon, which is to do the work of 
Evangelism, deals with the whole man, and with 
the greatest of his powers. It appeals to the 
Eeason, for Christ is the Logos of Grod, the in- 
carnate truth. It deals with Conscience, for it 
opens the profoundest problems of right and 
wrong, and penetrates to the ultimate relations 
of God and man. It illumines the Imagination, 
and seeks so to envisage the Divine realities that 
men shall see them. It touches the Emotions, for 
it is not content till men react upon the message 
with passion and conviction, and have their souls' 
depths answer to the deeps of mercy. Above all, 
Evangelistic Preaching aims dead at the Will. 
What it seeks is a Verdict, a judgment of value 
passed upon the Gospel, a decision absolutely, ut- 
terly, and conclusively, in its favor, an act of the 
man, in which he passes from his sin to allegiance 
to Christ. Such preaching demands the best you 



298 APPENDIX 

can put into it. I won't insult you by imputirig 
to you the criminal folly of supposing that an 
* ^ evangelistic address" can be easily prepared, 
compounded of the smallest modicum of ideas, 
and the largest amount of feeling, worked up 
ad hoc! Evangelism of this sort has made the 
very name offensive to honest and serious people. 
Put far from you all such false conceptions. 
When you sit down to prepare an Evangelistic 
Sermon, do as much work upon it as if you were 
getting ready a '^Eoyal George"— in Scotland we 
called it a ^^ Galloping Tam"— and were preach- 
ing for a call. Oh, the shame of it, that ministers 
should do better work for themselves than for 
their Master! I am persuaded better things of 
you. Choose your text carefully, for the distinct- 
ness with which it utters the Word of God. Bring 
to bear upon it your utmost exegetical skill, to 
discern its precise significance. Gather about it 
the widest reading that is possible. Set it in the 
light of your highest wisdom. Verify it in your 
experience and your observation. Enlighten it 
with such illustrations * ' as may convey the truths 
into the hearer's heart with spiritual delight"— 
a phrase from the Directory. In writing it, use 
the best English style at your command, without 
slovenliness and slipshod phrases, as well as with- 
out the turgidity of would-be eloquence, or the 
smartness of modern journalese. Let your yea 
be yea, and your nay, nay. Pray, before you open 
your Bible to look for a text. Pray without ceas- 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 299 

ing, during all your study. Let your whole being 
be open to the inspiration of Crod. All this will 
take time; and you must find the time. Nothing 
can compete with this in importance. Let not 
Mr. Fritterday waste your precious morning 
hours. Bid Mrs. Busybody begone! Shun the 
drug store, and the corner grocery. Linger not 
in the tennis court or the curling rink. Stir not 
one foot to a tea, party. Cut out every engage- 
ment that is not imperative duty. If there are 
chores, get up an hour earlier to do them. Let 
this sermon have your best physical, mental, and 
spiritual energy. Invest in it all you have of 
time and strength. I tell you, you will never re- 
gret it. Rich will be your dividends, and many 
will share therein. 

You will, undoubtedly, be much occupied with 
selection of topics for the twelve or fifteen ad- 
dresses which you will have to deliver. This is, 
certainly, a very important matter, as well as 
one of serious difficulty. 

It is, also, one upon which none but the 
preacher himself can decide. The most experi- 
enced advice may not fit his individual case. 
Three things, however, occur to me to say. (1) 
Would it not be well that the topics you choose 
should form a series, and follow an order of 
thought? I incline to think you should try to 
present in your set of discourses all the leading 
aspects of salvation. In any case do not be con- 
tent with a fragmentary or incomplete statement 



300 APPENDIX 

of the Gospel. Make sure that before your task 
is ended your hearers shall have had the essentials 
of the Christian life honestly and frankly put 
before them. Make your series so comprehensive 
that no one shall be able to complain that he only 
got a partial view of Christianity, and was in- 
duced to become a Christian under a misappre- 
hension. You are not asked to give a set of lec- 
tures on Christian doctrine ; but you are required 
to declare, with fullness, what it is to be a Chris- 
tian. What precisely the sequence shall be is 
not so important as, perhaps, you might con- 
sider. It would, I think, be mechanical to begin 
with so many sermons on Conviction and Re- 
pentance, then to have so many on Atonement and 
Justification, and to conclude with so many on 
Faith and the Holy Spirit. But it is, I think, 
of great importance that you should preserve the 
balance and harmony of New Testament Evangel- 
ism, and should place the emphasis where the New 
Testament Evangelists placed it. 

Your sermons must not he all conviction and 
terror, nor all gentleness and tenderness. The 
Magnitude of the Gospel, in its wisdom and power, 
its cost and scope, the Glory of the Eedeemer, 
His life on earth. His character. His Cross and 
Passion, His Exaltation and Supremacy; the 
Claim of Christ upon the Conscience ; His Invita- 
tion to Sinners; His Welcome to the worst; His 
Sufficiency for every need ; the Hardness of Chris- 
tianity; the Shame and Peril of Sin; the Immi- 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 301 

nence of Judgment; the Necessity of Conversion, 
or the New Birth; the Invitation of Jesns; the 
Mortification of Sin ; Abiding in Christ ; the Prom- 
ise of the Spirit; the Hope of Glory;— these are 
simply facets of the jewel. See that the light 
shine through your preaching clearly and steadily. 
(2) I would have you present Christianity as it 
has appealed to you, and as you have assimilated 
it in your experience. I do not mean that the 
Gospel is not one and the same for all men, or 
that it can be lowered to your experience of it. 
Yet I do believe that every man has Ms Gospel, 
that is, his own point of view, to which he has 
been led by the discipline of life, and his own 
conception of Christianity generated and war- 
ranted by the peculiarities of his own need. Wear 
no borrowed armour, not, at least, till you have 
proved it. Don't be a copyist. Let the note of 
individuality appear in all your work. Go back 
over your ministry. Recall the sermons which 
you preached most earnestly to yourself, or which 
you have real evidence of having been useful in 
various phases of human need. Study them 
afresh. Re-write them. Supply them with fresh 
matter, and new illustrations. Follow them into 
new applications and appeals. Group them so 
that they shall follow an order of thought. If you 
see gaps in the series, or omitted aspects of the 
Gospel, prepare sermons to supply the deficiencies. 
Let there be an accumulation of meaning, a pro- 
gression of experience, throughout the series. As 



302 APPENDIX 

a rule, it will be well to adhere toi the order you 
have determined on, though it is better, I think, 
not to announce it in print or otherwise. You 
must be ready to follow any evident leading of 
God during the mission. But I would be very 
slow to change the order, to comply with requests 
for some special topic. Cranks abound every- 
where. (3) Seek to have variety, as well as unity. 
The Bible is endlessly fertile ; and it is forbidden 
to the Evangelist to be dull, prosaic, or monot- 
onous, (a) Don't be afraid of doctrine. Take 
a passage from Paul or John, and let the people 
see how rich in thought the Scriptures are. (b) 
You will not fail to use incidents in the life of our 
Lord, or stories from the Acts. They are in- 
carnated truths, (c) Take some of the great 
moral and spiritual principles, which are embodied 
in weighty sentences, or aphoristic sayings, such 
as abound in the teachings of Jesus, and make 
plain and piercing application of it. (d) You will 
find that character studies lend themselves with 
amazing suitability to evangelism. Think of the 
cases of decision you may find in the Bible, or the 
instances of conversion, (e) The doctrine of sin 
can often be taught best from concrete examples. 
The lives of the Saints of God in their lapses and 
recoveries, as well as the fate of those who are 
outside the Kingdom, proclaim the guilt and 
penalty of sin with a power that the lapse of cen- 
turies never diminishes, (f) Old Testament nar- 
ratives sometimes lend themselves to purposes of 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNQ MISSIONER 303 

Gospel preacliing. But beware of fanciful inter- 
pretations and senseless spiritualizing, (g) Don't 
be afraid of ^ ^ hackneyed' ' texts. The old familiar 
text, preached with your new verification of it, 
will come home even to your oldest hearers with 
freshness and power. Be it far from you to dis- 
play your smartness in the choice of some eccen- 
tric phrase, wrested from its contents, and made 
a peg, on which to hang your own ideas. You 
are a messenger of the King, not a leader-writer 
for an evening newspaper. 

You will naturally be on the outlook for helps 
in preparing your addresses. The foundation of 
your work must be a scholarly study of the Bible 
itself. Use all the apparatus you happen to pos- 
sess, or have access to. The Expositors' Greek 
Testament will keep you in the lines of sober and 
accurate exegesis; and you can consult the great 
masters, Lightfoot, Westcott, Godet, and others, 
as you have opportunity. And, I hope, you are 
not so young as to despise older writers like Mat- 
thew Henry. The Expositors' Bible contains a 
mingled freight, but you will find in it some fine 
and helpful volumes, especially those of Dods, and 
MacLaren, and G. A. Smith, and Eainy. 

I would have you study the great masters of 
evangelistic preaching. You will be surprised to 
find a great deal of direct evangelism in writers 
not usually regarded as evangelistic, or even evan- 
gelical. 

The burning earnestness of F. W. Eobertson, 



304 APPENDIX 

the lofty idealism and broad humanity of Phillips 
Brooks, the massiveness and amplitude of Horace 
Bushnell, have each something of the Evangel, 
which you cannot afford to neglect. My own 
'^stand-by's" of early days, and my help and de- 
light still, are Spurgeon, MacLaren, Dale, Parker, 
Moody. Don't be afraid of the Puritans. Owen, 
on the 130th Psalm, is magnificent Evangelism. I 
owe inspiration to Richard Baxter, whose ** Saints' 
Everlasting Rest" set me on the first directly 
evangelistic sermon I ever preached. 

But whatever books you consult, use them, 
without abusing them. Never make your sermons 
mosaics of quotations, chiefly unacknowledged. 

Your sermons must be your own, in idea., and 
plan, and application. In the highest sense, they 
must be yours as words from God, which He 
gives you to speak. In delivering them, seek 
above all things for simplicity and directness. 
Cultivate brevity. Don't tear an emotion to tat- 
ters. Seek for heat, rather than flame. Often 
you will use the frontal attack, and press the 
charge home, till you reach the citadel, i, e,, the 
Will. Sometimes you will reach your goal best 
by concealing your direction, and enveloping your 
heareir by such plaiin common sense, such indubi- 
table fact, such demonstrable truth, that, almost 
before he knows, he has been captured, and must 
needs surrender. Always, even in your coolest 
statements, you must be in earnest ; and the people 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 305 

must see that you are. Even when making the 
freest offer, you must preserve the ethical note; 
and, when pressing hardest for conviction, you 
must preach as yourself a sinner, with a fellow- 
sinner's understanding and sympathy. When you 
reach the culminating moments of your appeal, 
try to keep, as it were, out of sight, so that the 
people may see *'no man save Jesus only.'' Let 
it be your aim to lead the people into the presence 
of the King. 

Then leave them there, not without prayer, but 
with the least possible interference of human 
speech. 

Finally remember that in the sermon God is 
speaking; and, when He speaks. He acts. The 
Gospel is His power, not yours. Speak, there- 
fore, with deep humility as far as you are con- 
cerned; but with unfaltering authority and un- 
swerving faithfulness, as far as your Message is 
concerned. And when you are done, leave the 
whole matter with God. Scarcely give the sermon 
another thought. Don't listen to praise, and don't 
be much moved by criticism. Turn to other du- 
ties; and set your face toward the nest oppor- 
tunity, committing yourself to your Master, ac- 
cepting His rebukes, seeking His guidance, and 
resting in His love. 

The duty to which, besides preaching, you must 
devote yourself is 



306 APPENDIX 

Personal Work 

It is not enough for tlie Missioner to come 
down to the hall, fire off his address, and then 
retreat into the fastness of the manse. His task 
is to win sonls, and such work must always be 
intensely individual. 

Perhaps God may so deal with the people that 
they will come seeking you. Then, of course, there 
need be no delay in setting before them their in- 
dividual relation to God. They will, probably, 
speak freely, and you will find out, without trouble, 
what their difficulties are. 

Often, however, you will need to seek for the 
souls you desire to win. Prom the very beginning, 
be on the outlook for them. As the Mission goes 
on, you will learn from their faces who they are 
with whom the Spirit of God is working. Try, 
even before they leave the place of meeting, to 
get into some personal relation with them. If 
possible, let not the night pass without an inter- 
view. In any case, don't let them slip through 
your fingers. The minister of the parish will, no 
doubt, have a number in mind whom he desires 
to have brought over the line during the Mission. 
He or his workers will make opportunities for 
you. 

And now, my dear fellow, you are, indeed, in 
the thick of it! If preaching is hard, this is 
harder still, and calls for the exercise of all your 
consecrated powers, and flings you back in pro- 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG- MISSIONEE 307 

found sense of need upon ihe help of God. I 
know yon will shrink. If, as I imagine, yon are 
of a reserved temperament, this work will be very 
trying. 

In places where there is a ^^tongh'' element, 
and yon find it necessary to do street work, get- 
ting into talk with men anywhere, even nnder 
most unfavorable circumstances, it will take all 
you have of courage and faith. This work costs ; 
but it pays. And, anyway, it is the Missioner's 
bounden duty. In approaching this work, you will 
need to remember the sacredness and mystery 
of the human soul. This is not dissecting work, 
as though you could lay bare the secret composi- 
tion of a character. This is not carpenter work, 
as though you could put together the fabric of a 
soul. This is personal work, and, in the highest 
sense, it is done only by the personal Lord. Your 
work is of the humblest, a leading of the soul 
to Him. You have no machinery, by working 
which you can save souls. Perish the thought 
that the Mission is a kind of mill, into which you 
pass the unsaved, and out of which you turn 
converts. You lead, persuade, console, command, 
counsel, help; and the Spirit of God does the 
converting. But your part of the work, humble 
though it be, is very delicate, and requires the 
utmost skill. 

Take what help you can from the psycholo- 
gists, especially those who have made application 
of their work to teaching, e. g., James, ^^Psy- 



308 APPENDIX 

chology and some of life's Ideals." Make for 
yourself a wide indication of instances. A great 
part of tlie Bible is made up of notes of per- 
sonal work. Christian biography is open to you. 
The writings of great evangelists abound in il- 
lustrated cases, e. g.^ Finney's ^^ Revivals of Ee- 
ligion." Your own experience has, no doubt, 
brought many strange and instructive instances 
before you. In all these cases, watch the type 
of soul, and note the dealing that seiemed to prove 
effective. Above all, guide yourself by the Bible. 
You are well enough trained to know that the 
Bible is not a compilation of recipes, to be ap- 
plied as a physician uses drugs. It is the Word 
of God, and you must learn to utter it, through 
your own apprehension of its power. It is not 
enough to quote a text, however apposite. You 
must so use it that it shall come tO' the hearer's 
ear as a living word, spoken straight to him by 
God Himself. Take what good you can from such 
words as those of Trumbull and Torrey. But 
never imagine that you can refer the soul you are 
dealing with to some sub-section of a chapter, 
and can gain the result you desire by a specified 
text. When you get face to face with the human 
soul God has given you, to guide and help, don't 
preach, don't argue, don't talk too much. Listen, 
and try to elicit enough of the strange, elusive 
story of a soul, to give you a light on your diffi- 
cult path as director and soul-winner. Reach 
after the soul by the indirect pathway of prayer. 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONED 309 

Get to tlie soul via tlie Mercy Seat. Go straight 
to tlie soul by the old human highway of sym- 
pathy. Be, as Luther has it, ^*a kind of Christ'' 
to that soul. Bear its sins, in a deep, even shud- 
dering, sense of their guilt and stain. Enter into 
its doubt and fear, without impatience ot censori- 
ousnessi, with endless forbearance, and the tact 
that love imparts. 

Eemember you are not the souPs judge. It 
is not for you to pronounce a verdict upon its 
spiritual condition. Beware lest the soul lean its 
hope on your estimate, instead of the estimate of 
the Saviour, who is also Judge. At every turn 
in the talk let Christ be seen, till, in the end, the 
soul's vision is filled with Him, and you and your 
words pass out of sight and hearing. Through 
it all, be the brother-man, the fellow-sinner, with- 
out airs or pretensions, yourself a proof of the 
mercy of God, and the sufficiency of Christ. 

I wonder if you would take from me, without 
resentment, a few plain words on your 

General Behaviour 

during the Mission. Seek to realize the ideal of 
a Christian gentleman. Dress carefully. Don't 
be too stiffly clerical. In the other extreme, don't 
dress loudly, with resplendent ties, and exagger- 
ated collars and cuffs. Be spotlessly clean in your 
apparel and your person. Don't smell of tobacco. 
Let your manner be frank, simple, courteous. Let 
your conversation be intelligent, cultured, bright. 



310 APPENDIX 

Don't talk too mucli. Never gossip. Never boast. 
Don't be solemnly professional, mechanically and 
externally pious. Don't reel off conventional 
phrases of religion or orthodoxy. In the other 
extreme, don't be a buffoon. Mortify yonr sense 
of hnmor. Never tell questionable stories. Never 
make broad jokes. 

How horrible, if your excellent addresses were 
utterly discounted in the minds of those who have 
met you in familiar intercourse, because of the 
emptiness and fatuity of your talk! 

Let your relation to the ladies, whom you may 
meet, be such as becomes a servant of Christ. 
Let your bearing toward them be gentle and chiv- 
alrous. Shun over-familiarity. Be discreet, even 
reserved. Be pure in thought and feeling. Con- 
fine your personal work to young men. With 
respect to girls and young women, call in the 
assistance of women workers. Your intercourse 
will mainly be with young men. Withi them, be 
a man among men, interested in all that inter- 
ests them. But let your aim, viz., the winning 
of men for Christ, dominate, consciously or sub- 
consciously, all your relations to them. Don't 
scare them, by coming at them with abrupt ques- 
tions. But don't let them go till you have raised 
the greatest issues, and confronted them with their 
own need, and their individual duty. 

Make this your resolve on beginning the Mis- 
sion, that no young man, whom you can reach, 
will pass from your influence, without being led 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONER 311 

to the verge of decision. Yon are not responsible 
for his conversion, bnt yon are responsible for 
doing all in your power to *^ introduce him to 
Christ," to use a phrase of Henry Drummond's. 

No doubt you will be entertained as well as 
the people can afford. But don't make a fuss 
about your comforts. Be prepared to ** endure 
hardness,'' if necessary. Fit in to whatever home 
you reside in. Give such assistance as a guest 
may; but don't ^'butt in." Purge your soul of 
selfishness. Make it absolutely plain that you are 
to get nothing out of the Mission for yourself, 
neither reputation nor money, nothing but the re- 
flex benefit of blessing to your own soul. Make 
a prayerful study of such a passage as 1 Thes. 
2: 1-12. (Note ver. 5, upon which a recent writer 
remarks, *^ Evidently the greedy and sly evan- 
gelist was even in the first century." Also the 
three great descriptive phrases of Ver. 10.) 

Throughout all the Mission look beyond it. 
Don't imagine the blessing is to stop when you 
leave. Whatever you are enabled to do is only 
the beginning. Work, therefore, for the minister, 
and with the minister. Talk much with him. Pray 
a great deal together. Grow into one another's 
expeirience. Be at one with him in his work. So 
work that the minister will go on in new heart 
and hope to a career of greater gladness and 
efficiency. Be absolutely loyal. 

When you get back to your own home, or 
when you pass on to some other mission, use all 



312 APPENDIX 

the experience you have gained. Let the lessons 
you have learned entier into your preaching and 
your personal work. But make moist guarded use, 
in your addresses, or conversation, of the actual 
incidents which have come under your notice. Be 
careful never to give undue publicity to cases you 
have dealt with. You might give great pain and 
do much harm. Never gossip about the minister, 
or pass strictures upon him'. You have only one 
duty toward himi and his congregation ; to remem- 
ber them with sympathy, to keep praying for them, 
especially for the souls who, through your instru- 
mentality, have begun the Christian life. 

When the mission is over, you will be weary, 
perhaps disappointeid. You will have much to 
blame yourself for, as well as many things to 
bless Grod for. In such a time, there is danger 
of reaction, of sinking beneath the level, at which 
you have been liviag, while the mission lasted. 
It is a time of moral relaxation, and of grave 
danger. Meet the temptation by going straight 
to God, with thanksgiving, confession, supplica- 
tion. Submit yourself to His chastening. Avail 
yourself of His grace. Eesume your own work, 
and put into it the same care and devotion that 
you expended in the mission. Your own people 
will take knowledge of you that you have been 
with Jesus. What a great day it will be for our 
Chhirch when the other men of your year, and 
the men of your standing in the other Colleges, 
will do what you aire doing, in what I am per- 



COUNSELS TO A YOUNG MISSIONEB 313 

suaded is your spirit, of deep humility, and a 
sincere desire to be used of God to gather men 
into His Kingdom! 

We, who are older, cannot do what you young 
fellows have the chance to do. 

Nowhere in the world is the opportunity so 
magnificent. It is for you to walk right up to 
it, and seize it for the good of our land, and the 
honor of our King. 

Commending you to the Triune God, Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit, in the plenteousness of His 
mercy, and the all-sufficiency of His grace, I am 
Faithfully and affectionately yours, 

Thomas B. Kilpatriok. 



WAY ! 1911 



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